tr\ 


oi  t\it  ^hfdoflira/ 


PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


»** 


a 


PRESENTED  BY 

THE  PRESBYTERIAN  BOARD  OF  PUBLICATION 


T\  L 


I 3)  5?S 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/picturesofhindooOOunse 


T Sinclair's  Sih. 


HINDOO  SCHOOL,  page  25. 


/ 

PICTURES 


HINDOO  LIFE; 


OR, 


INDIA  WITHOUT  THE  GOSPEL,  AND 
INDIA  WITH  THE  GOSPEL. 


PHILADELPHIA  : 

PRESBYTERIAN  BOARD  OF  PUBLICATION. 
NO.  821  CHESTNUT  STREET. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  HINDOOS — SYSTEM  OF  CASTES,  . 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  HINDOOS — THEIR  ORNAMENTS,  . 

CHAPTER  III. 

SCHOOLS,  DRESS,  HOUSES,  FOOD,  AND  SALUTA- 
TIONS OF  THE  HINDOOS,  .... 

CHAPTER  IV. 

MARRIAGES  AND  FUNERALS  AMONG  THE  HINDOOS, 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE  GODS  OF  THE  HINDOOS  — THEIR  SACRED 
WRITINGS 

CHAPTER  VI. 


PAGE 

5 

14 

25 

34 

43 


HINDOO  TEMPLES  AND  IDOLS, 


8 


62 


4 


CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER  VII. 

PAGE 

FESTIVALS  OF  THE  HINDOOS — WORSHIP  OF  THE 

SERPENT, 60 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

WORSHIP  OF  THE  RIYER  GANGES,  . . .69 

CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  GODDESS  DURGA — THE  GODDESS  KALEE,  . 75 

CHAPTER  X. 

SELF-TORTURES  OF  THE  HINDOOS,  . . .85 

CHAPTER  XI. 

SUTTEES— CRUELTIES  OF  THE  KHONDS,  . . 94 

CHAPTER  XII. 

TRICKS  OF  HINDOO  PRIESTS — SUPERSTITIONS  OF 

THE  PEOPLE, 104 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

SUCCESS  OF  THE  GOSPEL  AMONG  THE  HINDOOS,  .111 

CHAPTER  XIV. 


THE  GOOD  WORK  AMONG  THE  CHILDREN  OF  THE 

HINDOOS, 126 


PICTURES 


OF 

HINDOO  LIFE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  HINDOOS — SYSTEM  OF  CASTES. 

The  Hindoos  are  natives  of  Hindustan,  in 
Asia.  The  word  Hindustan  means  “ the 
country  of  the  Hindoos.”  The  land  is  now 
more  commonly  called  India,  or  the  East  In- 
dies. Its  length  is  1800  miles,  and  its  breadth 
nearly  1500 ; and  in  extent  it  is  ten  times 
larger  than  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland 
together.  The  sea  washes  its  shores  for  more 
than  3000  miles ; and  many  great  rivers,  as 
the  Ganges,  Indus,  Brahmaputra,  and  Ner- 
budda,  make  fruitful  the  country  through 
which  they  flow. 


6 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


Some  parts  are  desert  and  sandy ; but 
generally  India  is  covered  with  forests  and 
cultivated  land.  Among  its  trees  are  the 
teak,  ebony,  india-rubber,  sandal,  pine,  cocoa- 
nut,  and  the  banyan ; and  rice,  sugar,  tea, 
coffee,  cotton,  indigo,  pepper,  and  various 
other  plants  and  herbs,  grow  in  abundance. 

Almost  every  order  of  the  animal  creation 
is  met  with  in  India.  The  elephant,  buffalo, 
rhinoceros,  camel,  tiger,  bear,  hyena,  differ- 
ent kinds  of  deer,  together  with  birds  of  beau- 
tiful plumage  down  to  the  plain  house-sparrow, 
find  their  homes  in  the  woods,  forests,  and  jun- 
gles. Reptiles,  also,  both  harmless  and 
deadly,  abound  in  various  parts  of  the  land. 

Among  the  principal  cities  of  India,  are 
Calcutta,  Bombay,  Madras,  Benares,  Delhi, 
Allahabad,  Lahore,  Agra,  Cawnpore,  Luck- 
now, and  Poona.  In  these  and  other  large 
cities,  with  a great  number  of  towns  and  vil- 
lages nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of 
Hindoos  dwell. 

For  very  many  ages  India  has  been  inhabi- 
ted by  these  people,  under  the  rule  of  moguls 


SYSTEM  OF  CASTES. 


7 


ancl  rajahs,  or  native  princes  ; but  nearly  the 
whole  race  are  now  the  subjects  of  Queen  Vic- 
toria. Of  these  people  we  are  about  to  give 
you  some  sketches,  illustrating  their  manners, 
habits,  and  customs,  their  idols  and  heathen 
worship,  and  then  supply  some  account  of  the 
spread  of  the  gospel  among  them. 

The  people  of  India  divide  themselves  into 
castes,  or  distinct  races.  Their  sacred  books 
declare  that  after  their  god  Brahma  had  peo- 
pled the  heavens  above  and  the  worlds  below, 
he  created  the  human  race,  consisting  of  four 
castes.  From  his  mouth  came  the  Brahmin , 
or  chief  class.  Those  of  this  class  are  reck- 
oned the  highest  and  noblest  beings  on  earth, 
and  hold  the  office  of  priests.  At  the  same 
time  there  flowed  from  his  four  mouths  the 
Vedas,  or  sacred  books,  of  which  the  Brah- 
mins claim  to  be  the  only  teachers.  They 
were  to  give  to  their  fellow  men  only  such 
parts  of  these  books  as  they  thought  best. 

From  Brahma’s  arm  proceeded  the  military 
caste.  From  his  breast  came  the  third  class, 


8 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


consisting  of  farmers  and  merchants.  From 
his  feet  there  were  born  the  Sudras,  or  com- 
mon people.  Weavers,  carpenters,  dyers,  la- 
bourers, and  others,  belonging  to  this  order. 

Caste  is  said  to  be  a difference  of  kind. 
Hence,  a man  of  one  caste  can  never  be 
changed  into  a man  of  another  caste,  any  more 
than  a lion  can  be  changed  into  a mole,  or  a 
mole  into  a lion.  Each  caste  has  its  laws,  the 
breaking  of  which  is  attended  with  great  dis- 
grace and  degradation  below  all  the  other 
castes.  For  instance,  if  a Brahmin  should  by 
eating  any  forbidden  thing,  break  his  caste, 
he  would  sink  below  all  the  other  castes.  He 
would  become  a pariah , or  outcast.  For  be- 
neath the  fourth,  or  lowest  caste,  there  is  a 
class  of  people  belonging  to  no  caste,  who  are 
outcasts,  and  are  held  in  the  utmost  abhor- 
rence. 

The  Brahmins,  in  consequence  of  their  be- 
ing of  the  highest  caste,  and  of  their  having 
been  taught  from  their  infancy  to  regard  all 
other  classes  of  men  with  the  utmost  contempt, 
are  very  proud.  They  make  great  efforts  to 


SYSTEM  OF  CASTES. 


9 


keep  themselves  pure,  in  their  sense  of  the 
•word,  and  have  the  utmost  dread  even  of  being 
touched  by  a pariah.  For  them  to  eat  with 
any  of  these  pariahs,  or  to  go  into  their  houses, 
or  to  drink  water  which  they  have  drawn,  or 
from  vessels  which  they  have  handled,  is  at- 
tended with  the  loss  of  their  caste.  A 
Brahmin  who  should  enter  their  houses,  or 
permit  them  to  enter  his,  would  be  cut  off 
from  his  caste,  and  could  not  be  restored 
without  many  troublesome  ceremonies  and 
great  expense.  The  pariahs  are  considered 
to  be  so  low,  that  if  a Brahmin  were  to  touch 
them,  even  with  the  end  of  a long  pole,  he 
would  be  looked  upon  as  polluted.  In  some 
districts  they  are  obliged  to  make  a long  cir- 
cuit when  they  perceive  Brahmins  in  the  way, 
that  their  shadow  may  not  fall  upon  them  as 
they  pass. 

Should  a Sudra  happen  to  look  upon  the 
vessels  in  which  the  Brahmins  cook  their  food, 
they  would  be  considered  as  defiled.  The 
Brahmins  can  never  touch  any  kind  of  leather 
or  skin,  except  the  skin  of  the  tiger  and  ante- 


10 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


lope.  The  most  disagreeable  of  all  fashions 
in  their  eyes  is  that  of  boots  and  gloves.  They 
rarely  eat  their  food  from  plates ; and  when 
they  do  so,  it  is  only  at  home.  They  use  the 
leaf  of  the  plantain  or  other  trees  as  a substi- 
tute. To  offer  them  anything  to  eat  on  a 
metal  or  earthen  plate  which  others  have 
used  would  be  considered  a great  affront. 
When  they  eat  anything  dry,  they  throw  it 
into  their  mouths,  so  that  the  fingers  may  not 
approach  the  lips.  They  do  not  drink  as  we 
do,  by  applying  the  cup  to  the  lips,  but  they 
pour  the  water  into  their  mouths. 

The  use  of  animal  food  they  consider  to  be 
defiling.  Not  only  will  they  not  eat  animal 
food,  but  they  will  eat  nothing  that  has  the 
principle  of  life  in  it.  On  this  account,  they 
cannot  eat  eggs  of  any  kind.  Dr.  Scudder, 
a missionary  physician,  was  once  breaking 
an  egg  in  his  medicine  room,  while  a Brah- 
min was  present.  The  latter  told  the  doctor 
that,  under  such  circumstances,  he  could  not 
remain  with  him  any  longer.  In  his  view 
the  doctor  was  committing  a great  sin.  To 


SYSTEM  OF  CASTES. 


11 


kill  an  ox  or  a cow  is  considered  by  them  as 
a crime  which  can  never  he  atoned  for,  and 
to  eat  their  flesh  is  a defilement  which  can 
never  be  washed  away.  To  kill  a cow  is,  by 
Hindoo  law,  punishable  with  death. 

The  touch  of  most  animals,  particularly 
that  of  the  dog,  defiles  a Brahmin.  Should 
a dog  touch  them,  they  would  be  obliged  in- 
stantly to  plunge  into  water,  and  wash  their 
clothes,  in  order  to  get  rid  of  such  a stain. 
Notwithstanding  this,  the  dog  is  one  of  the 
gods  worshipped  by  the  Hindoos. 

The  Hindoos  consider  themselves  to  be  un- 
clean if  they  have  assisted  at  a funeral.  When 
the  ceremony  is  over  they  immediately  plunge 
into  water  for  the  sake  of  purification.  Even 
the  news  of  the  death  of  a relative  a hundred 
miles  off  has  the  same  effect.  The  person 
who  hears  such  news  is  considered  unclean 
until  he  has  bathed.  In  unison  with  this 
feeling,  a person  is  no  sooner  dead,  than  he 
is  hastened  away  to  be  buried  or  burned  : for, 
until  this  is  done,  those  in  the  house  can 


12 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


neither  eat,  nor  drink,  nor  go  on  with  their 
occupations. 

A Brahmin  who  is  particular  in  his  cere- 
monies, must  be  careful  what  he  treads  upon. 
He  is  obliged  to  wash  his  body  or  bathe,  if  he 
happens  to  tread  on  a bone,  or  a broken  pot, 
a bit  of  rag,  or  a leaf  from  which  one  has 
been  eating.  He  must  also  be  careful  wrhere 
he  sits  down.  Some  devotees  always  carry 
their  seats  with  them,  that  is,  a tiger  or  ante- 
lope’s skin,  which  are  always  held  to  be  pure. 
Some  have  only  a mat. 

When  a man  has  been  expelled  from  his 
caste  for  some  great  offence,  those  who  restore 
him  sometimes  slightly  burn  his  tongue  with 
a piece  of  gold  made  hot.  They  likewise  ap- 
ply to  different  parts  of  the  body  red-hot  iron 
stamps,  which  leave  marks  that  cannot  be  re- 
moved. 

There  are  certain  offences  which,  when 
committed,  cut  off  all  hope  that  the  offender 
will  ever  be  restored  to  his  caste.  For  in- 
stance, should  he  eat  the  flesh  of  the  cow, 
no  presents  which  he  might  make,  nor  any 


SYSTEM  OF  CASTES. 


13 


fines  which  he  might  be  disposed  to  pay, 
would  be  of  any  avail  for  his  restoration  or 
purification. 

Let  us  here  make  a remark.  It  is,  that  in 
Christian  countries  there  is  a spirit  of  pride 
which  much  resembles  the  spirit  of  caste. 
Many  are  to  be  found  who  are  very  proud 
that  they  have  descended  from  rich  and  hon- 
ourable ancestors,  and  who  look  down,  almost 
with  disdain,  upon  those  in  other  situations. 
This  spirit  is  entirely  opposed  to  the  spirit  of 
the  gospel.  No  matter  what  may  be  our 
high  thoughts  of  ourselves,  we  appear  but 
very  low  in  the  sight  of  Him  who  created  us. 
We  are  all  sinners,  and  we  should  humble 
ourselves  for  the  pride  of  our  hearts,  and  be- 
come as  little  children  before  him.  We  must 
have  that  spirit  of  which  the  apostle  speaks, 
when  he  says : “ Let  each  esteem  other 
better  than  themselves.” — Phil.  ii.  3.  With 
a humble  spirit  let  us  approach  a holy  God 
with  the  assurance  that,  truly  believing  in 
Jesus  Christ,  God  will,  for  his  sake,  forgive 
all  our  sins. 

2 


14 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  HINDOOS — THEIR  ORNAMENTS. 

The  skin  of  the  Hindoos  is  not  always  of 
the  same  tint.  Some  are  almost  of  a bronze 
or  mahogany  colour  ; others  are  quite  black. 
A difference  is  often  to  be  seen  in  the  same 
family.  One  child  will  be  of  a reddish  hue ; 
another  will  be  entirely  dark.  Two  little 
sisters  were  received  at  a mission  station,  and 
became  truly  pious.  One  was  named  Sevappe, 
or  the  red  one  ; the  other  was  called  Kevappe, 
or  the  black  one. 

These  people  very  much  resemble  the  Eng- 
lish in  the  cast  of  their  features.  Many  of 
them  are  well-favoured,  and  even  beautiful. 
More  especially  is  it  so  with  the  children  of 
the  Brahmins,  or  those  of  the  highest  caste, 
who  are  tenderly  brought  up.  But  they  try 


TIIE  HINDOOS — THEIR  ORNAMENTS.  15 

to  make  themselves  appear  more  attractive  by 
the  ornaments  which  they  wear.  These  orna- 
ments are  of  very  different  kinds,  and  are 
made  of  gold,  silver,  brass,  precious  stones, 
and  glass. 

Every  Hindoo  is  fond  of  ear-rings.  Some- 
times four  or  five  are  worn  in  each  ear,  con- 
sisting of  solid  gold  ; the  lower  one  being  the 
largest,  and  the  upper  one  the  smallest.  Some 
men  wear  a gold  ornament  attached  to  the 
middle  of  the  ear,  in  which  a precious  stone 
is  inserted.  Sometimes  they  wear  very  large 
circular  ear-rings,  made  of  the  wire  of  copper, 
around  which  gold  is  twisted  so  as  to  cover 
every  part  of  it.  These  are  frequently  orna- 
mented with  precious  stones.  The  females, 
in  addition  to  ear-rings,  have  an  ornament 
which  passes  through  the  rim  of  the  ear,  near 
the  head,  half  of  it  being  seen  above  the  rim, 
and  half  of  it  below  it.  An  ornamental  chain 
is  often  attached  to  this,  which  goes  some 
distance  back,  when  it  is  lost  in  the  hair. 
They  also  wear  a jewel  in  the  middle  of  the 
rim  of  the  ear,  and  another  on  that  little  for- 


16 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


ward  point  which  is  felt  by  your  finger  when 
you  attempt  to  put  it  into  the  ear.  Nose 
jewels  also  are  worn.  Sometimes  three  are 
worn  at  the  same  time.  Holes  are  made 
through  each  side  of  the  lower  part  of  the 
nose,  and  through  the  cartilage,  or  that  sub- 
stance which  divides  the  nostrils,  through 
which  they  are  suspended.  The  higher  and 
wealthier  females  wear  a profusion  of  orna- 
ments of  gold  and  pearls  round  the  neck. 

A very  pretty  ornament,  about  three  inches 
in  diameter,  having  the  appearance  of  gold,  is 
also  frequently  worn  by  them  on  the  back  part 
of  the  head.  In  addition  to  this,  the  little 
girls  sometimes  wear  one  or  two  similar  but 
smaller  ornaments  below  this,  as  well  as  an 
ornament  at  the  end  of  the  long  braid  of  hair 
which  hangs  down  over  the  middle  of  their 
backs.  Occasionally  the  whole,  or  the  greater 
part  of  this  braid  is  covered  with  an  ornament 
of  the  same  materials  with  those  just  described. 
They  also  wear  an  ornament  extending  from 
the  crown  of  the  head  to  the  forehead,  just  in 
that  spot  where  little  girls  in  our  country 


THE  HINDOOS — THEIR  ORNAMENTS.  IT 

part  their  hair.  Attached  to  this,  a circular 
piece  of  gold  is  sometimes  seen  filled  with, 
rubies. 

Rings  are  worn  on  the  toes  as  well  as  on 
the  fingers,  and  bracelets  of  gold  or  silver  on 
the  wrists.  Anklets,  similar  to  bracelets,  and 
tinkling  ornaments  are  worn  on  the  ankles. 
The  poor,  who  cannot  afford  to  wear  gold  or 
silver  bracelets,  have  them  made  of  glass, 
stained  with  different  colours.  Nearly  a 
dozen  are  often  seen  on  each  wrist. 

The  little  boys  wear  gold  or  silver  brace- 
lets ; also  gold  or  silver  anklets.  In  one  part 
of  the  country,  the  little  opening  which  is 
made  in  the  ears  of  the  children  is  gradually 
distended  until  it  becomes  very  large.  At 
first  the  opening  is  only  large  enough  to  ad- 
mit a wire.  After  this  has  been  worn  for  a 
short  time,  a knife  is  introduced  into  the  ear 
in  the  direction  of  the  opening,  and  an  incision 
made  large  enough  to  admit  a little  cotton. 
This  is  succeeded  by  a roll  of  oiled  cloth,  and 
by  a peculiar  shrub.  When  the  hole  becomes 
large  enough,  a heavy  ring  of  lead,  about 
2 * 


18 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


three  inches  round,  is  introduced.  This  soon 
increases  the  size  of  the  opening  to  such  an 
extent,  that  a second,  and  afterwards  a third, 
a fourth,  and  even  a fifth  ring  are  added.  By 
these  weights  the  lower  parts  of  the  ear  are 
drawn  down  sometimes  very  nearly,  or  quite 
to  the  shoulders.  Not  unfrequently  the  little 
girls,  when  they  run,  are  obliged  to  catch  hold 
of  these  rings  to  prevent  the  injury  which 
they  would  receive  by  them  striking  against 
their  necks.  In  due  time  these  rings  are 
removed,  and  ornamented  rings  are  substi- 
tuted. 

A different  plan  is  pursued  with  the  little 
girls  belonging  to  Mohammedan  families. 
They  have  their  ears  bored  from  the  top  to 
the  bottom.  The  openings  which  are  at  first 
made  are  small,  and  are  never  enlarged.  A 
ring  is  inserted  in  each  of  these  openings. 
Flowers  in  great  profusion  are  sometimes 
added  to  the  jewels. 

We  cannot  conclude  our  account  of  the 
jewels  of  the  little  girls,  without  giving  you 
a description  of  the  appearance  of  a little 


THE  HINDOOS — THEIR  ORNAMENTS.  19 


patient  of  Dr.  Scudder’s,*  at  Madras,  who 
came  to  him  loaded  with  trinkets.  It  will  be 
given  in  the  words  of  his  daughter,  which  she 
wrote  in  part  while  the  girl  was  at  their 
house.  “On  the  17th,  a little  dancing  girl 
came  to  see  us.  She  was  adorned  with  many 
jewels,  some  of  which  were  very  beautiful. 
The  jewel  in  the  top  of  the  ear  was  a circle, 
nearly  the  size  of  a five  shilling  piece.  It 
was  set  with  rubies.  Nine  pearls  were  sus- 
pended from  it.  In  the  middle  of  the  ear  was 
a jewel  of  a diamond  shape,  set  with  rubies 
and  pearls.  The  lowest  jewel  in  the  ear  was 
shaped  like  a bell.  It  was  set  with  rubies, 
and  from  it  hung  a row  of  pearls.  Close  by 
the  ear,  suspended  from  the  hair,  was  a jewel 
which  reached  below  her  ear.  It  consisted 
of  six  bells  of  gold,  one  above  the  other. 
Around  each  was  a small  row  of  pearls,  which 
reached  nearly  to  the  bell  below,  thus  form- 
ing a jewel  resembling  very  many  drops  of 

* The  contents  of  the  earlier  portions  of  this  volume 
are,  to  a large  extent,  taken  from  “ Tales  of  the  Hea- 
then,” by  Dr.  Scudder. 


20 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


pearls.  It  is  the  most  beautiful  jewel  that  I 
ever  saw.  In  the  right  side  of  her  nose  was 
a white  stone,  set  with  gold,  in  the  shape  of 
a star.  From  it  hung  a large  pearl.  There 
was  a hole  bored  in  the  partition  between  the 
nostrils.  This  hole  had  a jewel  in  it,  about 
an  inch  in  length,  in  the  middle  of  which  was 
a white  stone,  with  a ruby  on  each  side.  It 
also  had  a ruby  on  the  top.  From  the  white 
stone  hung  another,  of  a similar  colour,  at- 
tached to  it  by  a piece  of  gold.  In  the  left 
side  of  the  nose  was  a jewel  about  three  inches 
round.  It  was  somewhat  in  the  shape  of  a 
half-moon,  and  was  set  with  rubies,  pearls, 
and  emeralds.  This  jewel  hung  below  her 
mouth.  On  the  back  of  her  head  was  a large, 
round  gold  piece.  Another  large  piece  hung 
below  this.  Her  hair  was  braided  in  one 
braid,  and  hung  down  her  back.  At  the 
bottom  of  this  were  three  large  tassels  of  silk, 
mounted  with  gold.  Her  eyebrows  and  eye- 
lashes were  painted  with  black.  Her  neck 
was  covered  with  jewels  of  such  beauty,  and 
of  such  a variety,  that  I cannot  describe  them. 


THE  HINDOOS — THEIR  ORNAMENTS.  21 

Around  her  ankles  were  large  rings,  which 
looked  like  braided  silver.  To  these  were 
attached  very  many  little  bells,  which  rung 
as  she  walked.  I believe  all  dancing  girls 
wear  these  rings.”  These  were  the  orna- 
ments of  this  young  girl. 

Married  women  wear  an  ornament  peculiar 
to  themselves.  It  is  called  the  tahly.  It  is 
a piece  of  gold,  on  which  is  engraven  the  im- 
age of  some  one  of  their  gods.  This  is  fast- 
ened round  the  neck  by  a short  yellow  string, 
containing  one  hundred  and  eight  threads  of 
great  fineness.  Various  ceremonies  are  per- 
formed before  it  is  applied,  and  the  gods  are 
called  upon  to  give  their  blessing.  When 
these  ceremonies  are  finished,  the  tahly  is 
brought  on  a waiter,  ornamented  with  sweet- 
smelling flowers,  and  is  tied  by  the  bride- 
groom to  the  neck  of  the  bride.  This  orna- 
ment is  never  taken  off  unless  her  husband 
dies.  In  such  a case  she  is  deprived  of  it,  to 
wear  it  no  more  for  ever — deprived  of  it, 
after  various  ceremonies,  by  her  nearest  female 
relative,  who  cuts  the  thread  by  which  it  is 


22 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


suspended,  and  removes  it.  After  this  a 
barber  is  called,  who  shaves  her  head,  and 
she  becomes,  in  the  eyes  of  the  people,  a 
despised  widow — no  more  to  wear  any  orna- 
ment about  her  neck  but  a plain  one — no 
more  to  stain  her  face  with  yellow  water,  nor 
to  wear  on  her  forehead  those  marks  which 
are  considered  by  the  natives  as  among  their 
chief  ornaments. 

The  marks  which  the  natives  consider 
among  their  chief  ornaments  are  different 
among  different  sects.  The  followers  of  Siva 
rub  ashes  on  their  foreheads.  These  ashes 
are  generally  prepared  by  burning  what  in 
the  Tamul  language  is  dialled  chaarne.  They 
also  apply  these  ashes  in  streaks,  generally 
three  together,  on  their  breasts,  and  on  their 
arms.  Some  besmear  their  whole  bodies  with 
them. 

The  followers  of  Yishnoo  wear  an  ornament, 
which  consists  of  an  upright  line  drawn  on 
the  forehead,  generally  of  a red  or  yellow 
colour,  and  a white  line  on  each  side  of  it, 


THE  HINDOOS — THEIR  ORNAMENTS.  23 


which  unite  at  the  bottom  with  the  middle 
line,  and  form  a trident. 

Another  ornament  consists  of  a small  circle, 
which  is  called  pottu.  This  is  stamped  in  the 
middle  of  the  forehead.  Sometimes  it  is  red, 
sometimes  yellow  or  black.  Large  numbers 
of  women,  in  some  parts  of  the  country,  wash 
their  faces  with  a yellow  water,  made  so  by 
dissolving  in  it  a paste  made  of  a yellow  root 
and  common  shell-lime.  The  Brahmins  fre- 
quently, instead  of  rubbing  ashes,  draw  a line 
over  the  middle  of  their  foreheads,  to  show 
that  they  have  bathed  and  are  pure.  Some- 
times the  people  ornament  themselves  with  a 
paste  of  sandal-wood.  They  rub  themselves 
from  head  to  foot  with  it.  This  has  a very 
pleasant  smell. 

When  the  people  are  loaded  with  jewels 
and  covered  with  the  marks  just  described, 
they  think  themselves  to  be  highly  ornamented. 
But  after  all,  they  are  sinful  and  corrupt  in 
the  sight  of  God.  The  “ Pearl  of  great  price” 
and  u the  true  riches”  they  have  not.  They 
have  not  the  Gospel ; they  know  not  Jesus,  the 


24 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


Saviour  of  men.  Not  until  they  are  adorned 
with  the  robe  of  his  righteousness  will  they 
appear  lovely  in  the  sight  of  the  ever-blessed 
God. 


A HINDOO  FAMILY. 


Page  25. 


SCHOOLS,  DRESS,  HOUSES,  ETC. 


25 


CHAPTER  III. 

SCHOOLS,  DRESS,  HOUSES,  FOOD,  AND  SALU- 
TATIONS OF  THE  HINDOOS. 

The  native  schoolmasters  of  India  are  not 
a class  likely  to  advance  to  any  great  extent 
the  interests  of  their  scholars.  A village 
teacher  may  be  often  seen  enjoying  his  hookah, 
or  pipe,  with  a group  of  half-clothed  boys  be- 
fore him,  under  the  shade  of  a tree,  some  read- 
ing, while  others  are  learning  to  write.  The 
letters  are  drawn  or  indented  on  clay,  pre- 
pared for  the  purpose,  on  the  ground,  and  the 
scholar  with  a style,  a pen  of  metal  or  wood, 
moves  slowly  along,  cutting  his  letters  in 
regular  line.  In  a short  time  he  is  able  to 
dispense  with  his  clay,  and  generally  can 
write  sufficiently  well  on  paper.  ( See  our 
coloured  frontispiece). 

3 


26 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


The  dress  of  the  Hindoos  is  very  simple. 
A single  piece  of  cloth,  uncut,  about  three 
yards  in  length  and  one  in  width,  wrapped 
round  the  loins,  and  a shawl  thrown  over 
the  shoulders,  form  the  usual  dress  of  the  peo- 
ple. These  garments  are  often  fringed  with 
red  silk  or  gold.  The  native  ladies  fre- 
quently wrap  themselves  in  cloth  or  silk. 

The  houses  of  the  Hindoos  are  generally 
very  plainly  built.  In  the  country  they  are 
commonly  made  of  earth  and  thatched  with 
straw.  In  the  cities  they  are  covered  with 
tiles.  The  kitchen  is  placed  in  the  most  re- 
tired part  of  the  house.  In  the  houses  of 
the  Brahmins  the  kitchen  door  is  always 
barred,  to  prevent  strangers  from  looking 
upon  their  earthen  vessels  ; for  if  they  should 
happen  to  see  them,  it  is  believed  that  their 
look  would  pollute  them  to  such  a degree  that 
they  must  be  broken  to  pieces.  The  hearth 
is  generally  placed  on  the  south-west  side, 
which  is  said  to  be  the  side  of  the  “ god  of 
fire,”  because  they  say  that  this  god  actually 
dwells  there. 


SCHOOLS,  DRESS,  HOUSES,  ETC.  27 

The  domestic  customs  of  this  people  are 
very  different  from  ours.  The  men  and 
women  do  not  eat  together.  The  husband 
first  eats,  then  the  wife.  The  wife  waits  upon 
the  husband.  After  she  has  cooked  the  rice, 
she  brings  a brass  plate,  if  they  are  posses- 
sors of  one,  or  if  not,  a piece  of  a plantain- 
leaf,  and  puts  it  down  on  the  mat  before  him. 
She  then  places  the  rice  upon  the  leaf,  and 
afterwards  pours  currie  over  it.  This  being 
done,  the  husband  proceeds  to  mix  up  the 
currie  and  the  rice  with  his  hands,  and  puts 
it  into  his  mouth.  He  never  uses  a knife  and 
fork,  as  is  customary  with  us. 

Currie  is  a sauce  of  a yellow  colour,  owing 
to  the  munchel,  a yellow  root,  which  they  put 
in  it.  This  and  onions,  mustard,  pepper, 
etc.,  make  the  currie.  Some  add  to  these 
gliea,  or  melted  butter,  and  cocoa-nut  milk. 

After  the  husband  has  eaten,  the  wife 
brings  water  for  him  to  wash  his  hands.  This 
being  done,  she  supplies  him  with  vettalay, 
paakku,  shell-lime,  and  tobacco,  which  he  puts 
into  his  mouth  as  his  dessert.  The  vettalay 


28 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


is  a very  spicy  leaf.  Why  they  use  paakku, 
I do  not  know.  It  is  a nut,  which  they  cut 
into  small  pieces,  hut  it  has  very  little  flavour. 
Sometimes  the  wife  brings  her  husband  a 
cigar. 

In  Ceylon,  a large  island  on  the  south  side 
of  India,  it  is  customary  for  females  to  smoke. 
Frequently,  after  the  husband  has  smoked 
for  a while,  he  hands  the  cigar  to  his  wife. 
She  then  puts  it  into  her  mouth  and  smokes. 

Several  years  ago,  one  of  the  schoolmas- 
ters in  that  island  became  a Christian.  After 
he  had  partaken  of  the  Lord’s  supper,  his  wife 
considered  him  so  defiled,  that  she  would  not 
put  his  cigar  in  her  mouth  for  a month  after- 
wards. She,  however,  has  since  become  a 
Christian. 

The  plantain-leaf,  just  noticed,  is  sometimes 
six  feet  long,  and  in  some  parts  a foot  and  a 
half  wide.  It  is  an  unbroken  leaf,  with  a 
large  stem  running  through  the  middle  of  it. 
It  is  one  of  the  handsomest  of  leaves.  Pieces 
enough  can  be  torn  from  a single  leaf,  to  take 
the  place  of  a dozen  plates. 


SCHOOLS,  DRESS,  HOUSES,  ETC. 


29 


When  this  people  eat,  they  do  not  use  ta- 
bles and  chairs.  They  sit  on  mats,  and  dou- 
ble their  legs  under  them.  This  is  the  way  in 
which  the  natives,  as  a general  thing,  sit  in  the 
churches.  It  is  not  common  to  have  seats  or 
pews  for  them.  Carpenters  and  other  trades- 
men also  sit  down,  either  on  a board,  or  on 
the  ground,  or  on  their  legs,  when  they  work. 
If  a carpenter,  for  instance,  wants  to  make  a 
little  peg,  he  will  take  a small  piece  of  board, 
and  place  it  in  an  erect  position  between  his 
feet,  the  soles  of  which  are  turned  inward  so 
as  to  press  upon  the  board.  He  then  takes 
his  chisel  in  one  hand  and  his  mallet  in  the 
other,  and  cuts  off  a small  piece.  Afterwards 
he  holds  the  piece  in  one  hand,  and  while  he 
shapes  it  with  his  chisel  with  the  other,  he 
steadies  it  by  pressing  it  against  his  great 
toe. 

The  blacksmiths,  with  the  exception  of 
those  who  use  the  sledge-hammer,  sit  as  do  the 
carpenters,  while  they  hammer  the  iron.  They 
have  small  anvils,  which  they  place  in  a hole 
made  in  a log  of  wood  which  is  buried  in  the 


30 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


ground.  Their  bellows  consist  of  two  leather 
bags,  about  a foot  wide  and  a foot  and  a half 
long,  each  having  a nozzle  at  one  end ; the  other 
end  is  left  open  to  admit  the  air.  When  they 
wish  to  blow  the  fire,  they  extend  these  hags 
to  let  in  the  air.  They  then  close  them  by 
means  of  the  thumb  on  one  side  and  the  fingers 
on  the  other,  and  press  them  down  towards  the 
nozzle  of  the  bellows,  which  forces  the  air 
through  them  into  the  fire. 

The  natives  do  not,  as  a general  thing,  use 
bedsteads  nor  beds.  They  sleep  on  mats, 
which  are  spread  down  on  the  floor.  Some- 
times they  use  a cotton  bolster  for  their  heads. 
More  generally,  their  pillows  are  hard  boards, 
which  they  put  under  the  mat. 

In  addition  to  cooking,  the  females  have  to 
prepare  the  rice  for  food,  by  taking  it  out  of 
the  husk.  This  they  do  by  beating  it  in  a 
mortar,  about  two  feet  high.  The  pestle  with 
which  they  pound  it  is  about  five  feet  long, 
made  of  wood,  with  an  iron  rim  round  the 
lower  part  of  it.  Three  'women  can  work  at 
these  mortars  at  the  same  time.  But  they 


SCHOOLS,  DRESS,  HOUSES,  ETC.  31 

must  be  very  skilful  in  the  use  of  the  pestle, 
so  as  not  to  interfere  with  each  others’ 
operations. 

The  Hindoos  have  many  modes  of  saluta- 
tion. In  some  places  they  raise  their  right 
hand  to  the  heart.  In  others,  they  simply 
stretch  it  out  towards  the  person  who  is  pass- 
ing, if  they  know  him,  for  they  never  salute 
persons  with  whom  they  are  not  acquainted. 

When  they  meet  their  acquaintances,  they 
content  themselves  hy  saying  a friendly  word 
or  two  in  passing,  and  then  pursue  their  way. 
They  say  to  the  friends  they  meet,  salam, 
a word  which  they  have  borrowed  from  the 
Mohammedans,  at  the  same  time  raising  their 
hand  to  the  forehead.  When  they  address 
persons  of  high  rank,  they  give  them  their 
salam  thrice,  touching  the  ground  as  often 
with  both  hands,  and  then  lifting  them  up  to 
their  foreheads. 

Another  very  respectful  kind  of  salutation 
consists  in  lowering  both  hands  to  the  feet  of 
the  person  to  be  honoured,  or  even  in  falling 
down  and  embracing  them. 


32 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


Of  all  the  forms  of  salutation,  the  most  re- 
spectful is  the  prostration.  They  throw  them- 
selves at  their  whole  length  on  the  ground  and 
stretch  out  both  arms  above  their  heads.  This 
is  practised  before  priests,  and  in  the  presence 
of  an  assembly  when  they  appear  before  it  to 
beg  pardon  for  a crime. 

Relations,  who  have  long  been  separated, 
testify  their  joy  when  they  meet  by  chucking 
each  other  under  the  chin,  and  shedding  tears 
of  joy. 

If  a person  meets  another  of  high  rank,  he 
must  leave  the  path,  if  on  foot ; or  alight,  if 
on  horseback,  and  remain  standing  until  he 
has  passed.  At  the  same  time  he  must  take 
oft’  his  slippers.  He  also  must  take  oft-  his 
slippers  when  he  enters  a house.  Should  he 
fail  to  do  this,  it  would  be  considered  a great 
impropriety. 

When  the  Hindoos  visit  a person  of  distinc- 
tion for  the  first  time,  civility  requires  them 
to  take  some  present  as  a mark  of  respect,  or 
to  show  that  they  come  with  a friendly  inten- 
tion, especially  if  they  wish  to  ask  some  favour 


SCHOOLS,  DRESS,  HOUSES,  ETC. 


33 


in  return.  When  they  have  not  the  means  of 
making  large  presents,  they  carry  with  them 
sugar,  a few  flowers,  a bundle  of  plantains, 
a pitcher  of  milk,  and  other  things  of  various 
kinds. 

In  some  of  their  customs  thus  noticed,  may 
be  seen  illustrations  of  several  passages  of  the 
Bible ; for  many  of  the  habits  and  manners 
of  the  people  in  the  East  remain  in  the  present 
day  as  they  were  thousands  of  years  ago. 


34 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MARRIAGES  AND  FUNERALS  AMONG  THE 
HINDOOS. 

Some  of  the  marriage  ceremonies  of  the 
Hindoos  are  very  singular.  For  instance  : if 
the  father  of  a young  girl  is  a rich  and  liberal 
Brahmin,  he  will  frequently  bear  all  the  ex- 
penses of  the  marriage  of  his  daughter.  To 
present  a daughter  in  marriage  and  to  sell 
her  are  mostly  about  the  same  thing.  Almost 
every  parent  refuses  to  give  up  his  daughter, 
until  the  sum  of  money  for  which  he  consented 
to  let  her  go  is  paid.  Men  of  distinction 
generally  lay  out  this  money  for  jewels,  which 
they  present  to  their  daughters  on  their  wed- 
ding day.  Thus,  persons  to  be  married  have 
nothing  to  do  in  the  choice  of  each  other. 

The  marriage  ceremony  lasts  five  days. 


MARRIAGES  AND  FUNERALS. 


35 


The  bride  and  bridegroom  are  first  placed 
under  a puntel,  a kind  of  bower,  covered  with 
leaves,  in  front  of  the  house.  This  is  superbly 
adorned  ; and  an  image  of  one  of  their  gods, 
who  is  much  feared,  is  placed  under  the  house. 
The  married  women  then  come  forward  and 
perform  the  ceremony  called  arati,  which  is 
as  follows : — Upon  a plate  of  copper,  they 
place  a lamp  made  of  a paste  from  rice  flour. 
It  is  supplied  with  oil  and  lighted.  They 
then  take  hold  of  the  plate  with  both  hands, 
and  raise  it  as  high  as  the  heads  of  the  couple 
to  be  married,  and  describe  a number  of  circles 
with  the  plate  and  lamp.  This  is  to  prevent  the 
evil  of  any  jealous  looks,  which  any  persons 
might  make.  The  Hindoos  believe  that  great 
evils  arise  from  wicked  looks.  They  consider 
that  even  the  gods  themselves  are  not  out  of 
the  reach  of  malicious  eyes ; and  therefore, 
after  they  have  been  carried  through  the 
streets,  the  ceremony  of  arati  is  always  per- 
formed, to  clear  away  the  evil  which  they 
may  have  suffered  from  these  looks. 

After  many  other  ceremonies,  the  father-in- 


36 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


law  takes  the  hand  of  his  daughter  and  puts  it 
into  that  of  his  son-in-law.  He  then  pours 
water  over  them  in  honour  of  the  god  Yishnoo. 
This  is  the  most  solemn  of  all  the  ceremonies, 
being  the  token  of  his  resigning  his  daughter 
to  the  authority  of  the  young  man.  She 
must  be  accompanied  with  three  gifts,  namely, 
one  or  more  cows,  some  property  in  land,  and 
a salagrama,  which  consists  of  some  little 
amulet  stones  in  high  esteem  among  the 
Brahmins. 

Fire  is  then  brought  in,  upon  which  the 
bridegroom  offers  up  a sacrifice,  which  con- 
sists of  throwing  boiled  rice  with  melted  butter 
upon  the  fire.  He  then  takes  his  bride  by 
the  hand,  and  they  walk  three  times  around 
it,  while  the  incense  is  blazing. 

There  is  another  ceremony,  which,  perhaps, 
ought  to  be  mentioned,  as  it  is  considered  to 
be  one  of  much  importance.  Two  baskets  of 
bamboo  are  placed  close  together,  one  for  the 
bride,  the  other  for  the  bridegroom.  They 
step  into  them,  and  two  other  baskets  being 
brought,  filled  with  ground  rice,  the  husband 


MARRIAGES  AND  FUNERALS. 


37 


takes  up  one  with  both  hands  and  pours  the 
contents  over  the  head  of  the  bride.  She 
does  the  same  to  him.  In  the  marriage  of 
princes,  pearls  are  sometimes  used  instead  of 
rice. 

While  the  assembled  guests  are  dining,  the 
bridegroom  and  the  bride  also  partake,  and 
eat  together  from  the  same  plate.  This  is  a 
token  of  the  closest  union.  But  this  is  the 
only  instance  in  -which  they  ever  eat  together. 

After  all  the  ceremonies  are  finished,  a 
procession  is  made  through  the  streets  of  the 
village.  It  commonly  takes  place  in  the 
night,  by  torchlight,  accompanied  -with  fire- 
works. The  newly  married  pair  are  seated 
in  a palanquin,  with  their  faces  towards  each 
other,  both  richly  dressed.  The  bride,  in 
particular,  is  generally  covered  with  jewels 
and  precious  stones. 

The  procession  moves  slowly ; and  their 
friends  and  relations  come  out  of  their  houses 
as  they  pass ; the  women  hailing  the  married 
couple  with  the  ceremony  of  arati,  and  the 
men  with  presents  of  silver,  fruits,  sugar,  and 
4 


38 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


betel.  “ I once  witnessed  one  of  these  mar- 
riage processions  in  the  streets  of  Madras  at 
night,”  says  the  Rev.  Dr.  Scudder,  “but  can 
give  you  but  little  idea  of  its  magnificence. 
The  lamps  used  on  the  occasion  could  not  be 
numbered.  The  shrubbery,  which  was  drawn 
on  carts  or  other  vehicles,  appeared  exceed- 
ingly beautiful,  in  consequence  of  the  light 
reflected  from  the  lamps.  Intermingled  with 
this  shrubbery,  were  little  girls  elegantly 
dressed,  and  adorned  with  flowers  on  their 
heads.  Many  elephants,  with  their  trappings 
of  gold  and  silver  and  red,  formed  a part  of 
the  procession.  Fire-works  were  also  added, 
to  make  the  scene  more  brilliant.” 

The  death  of  a Hindoo  is  followed  by  many 
ceremonies.  When  it  is  evident  that  a Brah- 
min has  only  a little  time  to  live,  a space  is 
prepared  with  earth,  well  spread  with  cow- 
dung,  over  which  a cloth,  that  has  never  been 
worn,  is  spread.  The  dying  man  is  placed 
upon  this  at  full  length.  Another  cloth  is 
wrapped  around  his  loins.  This  being  done, 


MARRIAGES  AND  FUNERALS. 


39 


a ceremony  called  the  expiation  for  his  sins 
is  performed.  The  chief  of  the  funeral  brings 
on  one  plate  some  small  pieces  of  silver  or 
copper  coin,  and  on  another  a nauseous 
draught,  called  punchaJcaryam.  The  dying 
man  is  made  to  recite  within  himself,  if  he 
cannot  speak,  the  proper  muntrums,  or  prayers, 
by  which  he  is  said  to  be  delivered  from  all 
his  sins.  After  this,  a cow  is  introduced  with 
her  calf.  Her  horns  are  decorated  with  rings 
of  gold  or  brass,  and  her  neck  with  garlands 
of  flowers.  A pure  cloth  is  laid  over  her 
body.  Thus  decked,  she  is  led  up  to  the  sick 
man  who  takes  hold  of  her  tail.  Prayers  are 
now  offered  up  that  the  cow  may  conduct  him, 
by  a blessed  path,  to  the  next  world.  He 
then  makes  a gift  of  a cow  to  a Brahmin. 
This  gift  is  considered  indispensable  to  en- 
able the  soul  to  go  over  the  river  of  fire,  which 
it  is  said  all  must  pass  after  death.  As  soon 
as  the  breath  has  left  his  body,  all  who  are 
present  must  weep  for  a reasonable  time,  and 
join  in  lamentations  together.  After  various 
ceremonies,  the  body  is  washed.  It  is  then 


40 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


clad  with  its  finest  clothes  and  adorned  with 
jewels.  It  is  rubbed  with  sandal- wood  where 
the  body  is  uncovered,  and  the  accustomed 
mark  is  put  upon  its  forehead.  Thus  dressed, 
it  is  placed  on  a kind  of  state  bed,  where  it 
remains  until  it  is  carried  to  the  pile. 

Having  arrived  at  the  place  for  burning  the 
dead,  they  dig  a trench  about  six  or  seven  feet 
in  length.  This  is  consecrated  by  the  mun- 
trums.  It  is  slightly  sprinkled  with  water  to 
lay  the  dust,  and  a few  pieces  of  money  in  gold 
are  scattered  upon  it.  Here  the  pile  is  erected 
of  dried  wood,  on  which  the  body  is  laid  out 
at  full  length.  Over  the  body  a quantity  of 
twigs  are  laid,  which  are  sprinkled  with 
punchakaryam.  The  chief  of  the  funeral  then 
takes  on  his  shoulders  a pitcher  of  water,  and 
goes  around  the  pile  three  times,  letting  the 
water  run  through  a hole  made  in  it.  After 
this  he  breaks  the  pitcher  in  pieces  near  the 
head  of  the  corpse. 

At  last  the  torch  is  brought  for  setting  fire 
to  the  pile,  and  is  handed  to  the  chief  of  the 
funeral.  Before  he  receives  it,  however,  he 


MARRIAGES  AND  FUNERALS. 


41 


pretends  to  be  full  of  sorrow.  He  beats  his 
breast,  and  makes  the  air  resound  with  his 
cries.  The  assistants  also  cry,  or  appear  to 
cry.  Fire  being  applied  to  the  four  corners 
of  the  pile,  the  crowd  retire,  except  the  four 
Brahmins  who  carried  the  body  ; they  remain 
until  the  whole  is  consumed. 

The  funerals  of  the  Sudras,  or  common  peo- 
ple differ  in  some  respects  from  those  of  the 
Brahmins.  Deafening  sounds  of  drums,  trum- 
pets, and  other  instruments  of  music,  not  in 
use  among  the  Brahmins,  accompany  their 
funerals.  To  increase  the  noise,  they  some- 
times shoot  off  an  instrument  which  somewhat 
resembles  a small  cannon. 

By  the  ceremonies  which  this  wretched  peo- 
ple perform  for  their  friends  just  before  their 
death,  they  expect  to  procure  the  pardon  of  all 
their  sins.  Alas,  what  a delusion ! They 
know  not  that  “ our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  hath 
abolished  death,  and  hath  brought  life  and 
immortality  to  light  through  the  gospel,” 
(2  Tim.  i.  10 ;)  and  that  those  who  believe  in 
him  are  received,  after  this  short  life  has 


42  PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 

closed,  to  a world  of  purity,  love,  and  happi- 
ness. Oh,  that  they  should  be  in  ignorance  ! 
May  Christians  now  living  lay  this  matter  to 
heart,  and  do  what  they  can,  through  grace, 
to  rescue  those  who  are  yet  within  the  reach 
of  hope  from  perishing  in  their  sins. 


THE  GODS  OF  THE  HINDOOS. 


43 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  GODS  OF  THE  HINDOOS — THEIR 
SACRED  WRITINGS. 

The  word  heathen  is  applied  to  those  who 
worship  idols,  or  who  do  not  know  anything 
about  the  true  God.  This  is  the  case  with  this 
people.  They  say  that  there  is  one  supreme 
being,  whom  they  call  Brahm  ; but  he  is  never 
worshipped.  He  is  said  to  be  generally  fast 
asleep.  In  the  place  of  Brahm,  they  worship 
many  gods,  whose  number  is  said  to  be  three 
hundred  and  thirty  millions.  They  are  gods  of 
all  colours,  some  black,  some  white,  some  blue, 
some  red— gods  of  all  shapes,  some  being  in 
the  form  of  beasts,  some  in  the  shape  of  men  ; 
some  partly  in  the  shape  of  beasts  and  partly 
in  the  shape  of  men,  having  four,  or  ten,  or  a 
hundred,  or  a thousand  eyes,  heads,  and  hands. 


44 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


They  are  of  all  sizes,  being  from  a few  inches 
to  twenty  or  thirty  feet  in  height.  They  are 
described  as  riding  through  the  air  on  ele- 
phants, buffaloes,  lions,  sheep,  deer,  goats, 
peacocks,  vultures,  geese,  serpents,  and  rats. 
They  hold  in  their  hands  all  kinds  of  weapons, 
as  thunderbolts,  javelins,  spears,  clubs,  bows, 
arrows,  shields,  flags,  and  shells.  There  are 
gods  of  the  heavens  above  and  of  the  earth 
below ; gods  of  wisdom  and  of  folly  ; gods  of 
war  and  of  peace ; gods  of  good  and  of  evil ; 
gods  of  pleasure,  and  gods  of  cruelty  and 
wrath,  whose  thirst  must  be  satiated  with  tor- 
rents of  blood.  These  gods  are  said  to  fight 
and  quarrel  with  one  another.  They  lie,  steal, 
commit  murder  and  other  crimes.  They  pour 
out  their  curses  when  they  cannot  succeed  in 
their  wicked  plots,  and  invent  all  kinds  of 
lying  tales  to  hide  their  evil  deeds. 

There  are  three  principal  gods,  whose  names 
are  Brahma,  Vishnoo,  and  Siva.  Brahma, 
they  say,  is  the  creator  of  the  world,  Vishnoo 
the  preserver,  and  Siva  the  destroyer. 

Brahma  has  no  temple  erected  for  his  wor- 


THE  GODS  OF  THE  HINDOOS. 


45 


ship,  on  account  of  a great  falsehood  which  he 
told.  Once,  as  it  is  said,  there  was  a dispute 
between  him  and  Yishnoo,  as  to  who  is  the 
greatest.  While  thus  disputing,  Siva  appeared 
between  the  two  as  a fire-post,  and  told  them 
that  he  who  should  find  the  bottom  or  the  top 
of  the  post  first,  would  show  that  he  was  the 
greatest.  Yishnoo  immediately  changed  him- 
self into  a hog,  and  began  to  root  up  the  earth 
with  the  hope  of  finding  the  bottom  of  the  post. 
Brahma  changed  himself  into  a swan,  flew  up 
towards  the  top  of  the  post,  and  cried  out,  “ I 
have  found  it but  he  had  not  so  done.  For 
this  falsehood,  it  is  said,  no  temple  is  erected 
for  his  worship. 

Vishnoo  is  described  as  a thief  and  a liar. 
The  people  relate  that  he  was  once  dwelling 
in  the  house  of  a dairyman,  and  used  con- 
stantly to  steal  butter  and  curdled  milk  from 
the  dairyman’s  wife.  She  did  not  know,  for 
a long  time,  what  became  of  her  butter  and 
milk,  but  at  last  found  out  that  Vishnoo  was 
the  thief.  To  punish  him  for  his  theft,  she 
tied  him  to  a rice  mortar. 


46 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


Siva’s  conduct  was  very  bad.  It  is  said 
that  on  one  occasion  lie  was  gambling  with  his 
wife  Parvathi.  Vishnoo  was  appointed  to 
determine  who  was  the  best  player.  After 
playing  for  a little  season,  Parvathi  won  the 
game.  Siva  then  beckoned  to  Yishnoo  to 
declare  that  he,  instead  of  Parvathi,  had  won 
it.  This  he  did.  In  consequence  of  this  false- 
hood, he  was  cursed  by  Parvathi,  and  changed 
into  a snake. 

Besides  these  gods,  numerous  living  crea- 
tures are  objects  of  worship,  as  the  ape,  tiger, 
elephant,  stag,  hog,  cat,  rat,  peacock,  eagle, 
cock,  hawk,  chameleon,  tortoise,  serpents,  and 
even  insects.  Of  these,  some  receive  more 
worship  than  others : the  cow  and  the  cobra 
capello  are  particularly  the  objects  of  religious 
homage.  To  injure  these  gods  exposes  the 
offending  persons  to  the  heaviest  punishments. 

“ I went  into  a town,”  says  a missionary  in 
the  East  Indies,  “ at  an  early  hour,  and  began 
my  labours  with  a small  number  of  people, 
which,  however,  increased  to  seventy  or  eighty. 
My  attention  was  soon  called  to  the  fact,  that 


THE  GODS  OF  THE  HINDOOS. 


47 


a great  sin  had  been  committed  in  the  village 
the  past  night.  A man  had  been  guilty  of 
killing  a cow ; or,  in  other  words,  his  cow, 
which  he  had  tied  up  as  usual,  had  been 
strangled  to  death  by  the  rope.  For  this  great 
sin,  as  it  was  said  to  be,  the  poor  man,  in  ad- 
dition to  losing  his  cow,  was  obliged  to  perform 
some  painful  ceremonies,  besides  making  an 
offering  of  money  to  the  Brahmins,  against 
whom  they  said  he  had  so  wickedly  offended ; 
for  they  regard  the  cow  as  their  mother. 

“ While  inquiring  into  the  case,  a man  ac- 
quainted with  the  Ilindoooshastres  or  religious 
books,  came  up.  I asked  him  what  their 
sacred  books  said  on  the  subject.  lie  replied, 
‘ that  killing  a cow  is  one  of  the  greatest  sins.’ 
‘ But  if  there  is,  as  in  the  present  case,  no  in- 
tention of  killing,  can  there  be  any  sin  in  the 
act  ?’  ‘ Yes  ; he  tied  with  his  own  hand  the 

rope  which  strangled  the  cow,  so  that  he  is 
guilty  of  murder.’  ‘ But  if  he  had  no  inten- 
tion of  killing  the  cow,  how  can  he  be  held 
guilty  V ‘ As  to  that,’  said  the  man,  ‘ I can- 
not say  ; all  I know,  is  what  the  books  teach.’ 


48 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


After  I had  explained  and  illustrated  the 
nature  of  crime,  especially  with  regard  to  this 
case,  the  man  seemed  satisfied  that  the  unfor- 
tunate cow-slayer  was  innocent,  though  his 
sacred  hooks  and  Brahmins  said  the  con- 
trary. 

“ This  opened  the  way  for  the  great  ques- 
tion, How  God  regards  the  conduct  of  men, 
and  who  will  be  found  guilty,  and  who  in- 
nocent, in  his  sight?  Then  I went  on  to 
show  the  evil  of  some  doctrines  of  the  heathens. 
After  we  had  got  thus  far,  the  disciple  of 
the  shastres  changed  the  subject,  by  saying, 
‘ Now  let  us  hear  your  story  ; mine  is  finished.’ 
Upon  this,  I began  to  unfold  the  Christian 
religion,  so  far  as  time  would  allow.  With 
these  instructions  all  seemed  pleased,  and  the 
interview  was,  on  the  whole,  a very  favour- 
able one.” 

The  shastres,  or  sacred  books  of  the 
Hindoos,  are  very  old,  but  not  so  old  as  it  is 
pretended  they  are.  The  most  revered  are 
called  the  Vedas,  and  are  said  to  have  come 
out  of  the  four  mouths  of  Brahma.  Though 


THEIR  SACRED  WRITINGS. 


49 


the  Brahmins  affect  to  have  a great  knowledge 
of  these  books  they  are  in  fact  mostly  very 
ignorant  of  them.  The  more  clearly  the  books 
are  brought  to  the  light,  the  greater  are  their 
inconsistencies,  follies,  and  absurdities  seen. 
We  cannot  here  enter  into  the  nature  of  their 
teachings.  One  specimen  will  show  their 
character. 

The  Vedas  lay  down  forms  of  religious 
service,  or  acts  of  worship,  designed  to  injure 
or  destroy  all  enemies.  When  a person  wishes 
to  have  his  enemies  destroyed,  he  goes  to  a 
Brahmin  and  secures  his  supposed  aid.  The 
Brahmin,  before  he  proceeds  to  his  work, 
clothes  himself  with  a black  garment.  He 
also  makes  four  images  of  the  foe,  and  clothes 
these  with  black  garments.  He  then  kindles 
a sacrificial  fire,  and  after  the  performance  of 
various  ceremonies,  he  takes  pieces  of  some 
animal  which  has  been  consecrated  for  the 
purpose,  and  throws  them  into  this  fire.  On 
every  occasion  when  he  makes  this  burnt- 
offering,  he  touches  the  mouth  of  the  image 
of  this  enemy,  uttering  one  or  other  of  the 
5 


50 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


forms  of  prayer  which  are  written  in  the  sac- 
red books.  Of  these,  the  following  are  a 
few:  “0  Agni,”  god  of  fire,  “thou  who  art 
the  mouth  of  all  gods,  do  thou  destroy  the 
wisdom  of  my  enemy.”  “ 0 Agni,  fill  with 
distraction  the  mind  of  this  my  enemy.”  “0 
Agni,  destroy  the  senses  of  this  my  enemy.” 
“ 0 Agni,  fasten  with  a peg  the  tongue  of 
this  my  enemy.”  “ 0 Agni,  reduce  to  ashes 
this  my  enemy.” 

How  different  is  the  religion  of  Jesus  from 
the  religion  thus  taught  in  the  shastres  ! No 
precepts  in  God’s  book  teach  us  that  we 
may  injure  or  destroy  our  enemies.  On  the 
contrary,  they  enforce  the  duty  of  love  to 
them,  and  to  do  them  good.  The  words  of 
Jesus  are — “Ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been 
said,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour,  and  hate 
thine  enemy.  But  I say  unto  you,  Love  your 
enemies,  bless  them  that  curse  you,  do  good 
to  them  that  hate  you,  and  pray  for  them 
which  despitefully  use  you,  and  persecute  you ; 
that  ye  may  be  the  children  of  your  Father 
which  is  in  heaven  : for  he  maketh  his  sun  to 


THEIE  SACRED  WRITINGS. 


51 


rise  on  the  evil  and  on  the  good,  and  sendeth 
rain  on  the  just  and  on  the  unjust.” — (Matt, 
v.  44,  45.) 

Send,  then,  the  Bible  to  the  Hindoos.  It 
is  their  great  want ; by  it  the  Holy  Spirit  can 
remove  their  ignorance,  teach  them  to  love 
one  another,  and  make  them  “ wise  unto  sal- 
vation.” 


52 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

HINDOO  TEMPLES  AND  IDOLS. 

Hindoo  temples  are  very  numerous.  One 
is  to  be  found  in  almost  every  village.  They 
are  also  to  be  seen  in  out  of  the  way  places, 
as  in  woods,  on  the  banks,  and  in  the  middle 
of  rivers,  and  particularly  on  mountains  and 
steep  rocks. 

Idols,  not  in  temples,  are  also  to  be  seen  on 
the  high  roads,  at  the  entrance  into  villages, 
and  under  lofty  trees.  Some  are  finely  carved ; 
others  consist  of  merely  rough  stone.  No 
idol  can  become  an  object  of  worship  until  a 
Brahmin  has  said  his  muntrums,  or  prayers, 
for  the  purpose  of  bringing  down  the  god  to 
live,  as  it  is  said  he  does,  in  the  image,  and 
until  he  has  poured  oil  and  liquid  butter 
over  it. 


HINDOO  TEMPLES  AND  IDOLS.  53 


In  the  great  temples  the  idols  are  clothed 
•with  rich  garments,  and  adorned  with  jewels, 
which  are  enriched  with  precious  stones  of 
great  value.  Sacrifices  are  constantly  made 
to  them,  consisting  of  boiled  rice,  flowers, 
fruits,  etc.,  but  above  all,  of  lamps,  of  which 
many  thousands  are  sometimes  seen  burn- 
ing. 

The  priests  of  the  temples  offer  up  sacri- 
fices twice  every  day,  morning  and  evening. 
They  begin  the  ceremony  by  washing  their 
idol.  The  water  which  is  used  is  brought 
from  a river  or  tank.  Every  morning  a pro- 
cession, with  music,  passes  along  with  this 
water. 

Every  priest  who  offers  up  sacrifices,  must 
have  several  lighted  lamps  with  a bell,  which 
he  holds  in  his  left  hand.  With  his  right 
hand  he  makes  an  offering  to  the  idol,  adorns 
it  with  flowers,  and  rubs  its  forehead  and 
various  parts  of  its  body  with  sandal-wood 
and  holy  ashes.  When  he  has  done,  he  comes 
out  and  distributes  among  the  people  a part 
of  the  things  which  have  been  offered  to  the 


54 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


idol.  These  are  considered  as  holy.  If  they 
consist  of  rice  and  fruit,  they  are  immediately 
eaten  : if  of  flowers,  the  men  put  them  in  their 
turbans,  and  the  girls  entwine  them  in  their 
hair. 

Next  to  the  priests,  the  most  important 
persons  about  the  temples  are  the  dancing 
girls.  These  are  persons  of  bad  character. 
They  perform  their  religious  duties  in  the 
temple,  assisting  at  the  public  ceremonies 
with  dancing.  At  the  same  time  they  sing 
corrupt  and  wicked  songs. 

An  order  of  persons  employed  in  the 
temples,  are  players  on  musical  instruments. 
Every  temple  of  note  has  a band  of  these 
musicians,  who,  as  well  as  female  dancers,  are 
obliged  to  attend  the  temple  twice  a day. 
They  are  also  obliged  to  assist  at  all  the  public 
festivals.  Their  band  generally  consists  of 
wind  instruments,  resembling  clarionets  and 
hautboys,  to  which  they  add  cymbals  and 
drums.  They  have  a bass  instrument,  pro- 
duced by  blowing  into  a kind  of  tube,  widened 
below,  and  which  gives  an  uninterrupted 


HINDOO  TEMPLES  AND  IDOLS. 


55 


sound.  Part  of  the  musicians  sing  hymns  in 
honour  of  their  gods. 

The  expenses  of  the  temples  are  borne  by 
the  voluntary  offerings  of  the  people,  consist- 
ing of  money,  jewels,  cattle,  provisions,  and 
other  articles.  In  order  to  induce  them  to 
make  such  offerings,  the  Brahmins  use  all 
kinds  of  deception.  Sometimes  they  will  put 
iron  chains  on  the  hands  and  feet  of  their 
idols.  They  exhibit  them  in  this  sad  condi- 
tion, declaring  that  they  have  been  brought 
into  it  by  creditors,  from  whom  their  gods 
had  to  borrow  money,  in  times  of  trouble,  to 
supply  their  wants.  They  declare  that  their 
creditors  refuse  to  set  the  gods  at  liberty, 
until  the  money  with  the  interest  is  paid. 
The  people,  seeing  the  sad  condition  into 
which  they  have  been  brought,  come  forward 
and  pay  off  the  debt.  The  chains  are  then 
taken  off,  and  the  god  is  set  at  liberty. 

Another  way  in  which  the  Brahmins  some- 
times deceive  the  people,  is  as  follows.  They 
say  that  the  god  is  afflicted  with  some  dread- 
ful disease,  brought  on  by  distress  of  mind, 


56 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


because  the  people  do  not  worship  him  as 
much  as  they  should.  In  such  cases,  the 
idol  is  sometimes  placed  at  the  door  of  the 
temple,  where  they  rub  his  forehead  with 
various  kinds  of  medicine.  They  also  set 
before  him  various  sorts  of  drugs,  pretending 
in  this  way  to  do  all  they  can  to  cure  him. 
But  as  all  their  efforts  prove  to  be  vain, 
and  the  disease  becomes  worse,  the  Brahmins 
send  out  persons  to  tell  the  sad  news.  The 
people,  believing  the  report,  hasten  to  bring  in 
their  gifts  and  offerings.  Then  it  is  said  that 
the  god,  on  beholding  such  proofs  of  their 
attachment  to  him,  is  cured  of  his  disease,  and 
returns  to  his  throne  within  the  temple. 

The  Brahmins  use  another  kind  of  decep- 
tion, in  order  to  procure  offerings  for  the 
temples.  They  declare  that  their  gods  are 
angry  with  certain  individuals  who  have 
offended  them,  and  that  they  have  sent  some 
evil  spirit  or  devil  to  take  possession  of  their 
bodies  and  torment  them.  Accordingly,  per- 
sons appear  wandering  about  in  different 
parts  of  the  country,  showing  by  their 


HINDOO  TEMPLES  AND  IDOLS. 


57 


dreadful  convulsions,  their  writhings  and 
twistings,  every  symptom  of  being  possessed 
with  the  devil.  The  people  who  see  them 
are  filled  with  dismay,  fall  down  before  them, 
and  offer  gifts  and  sacrifices,  for  fear  of  being 
injured  by  them.  Whatever  they  ask  is 
granted.  The  people  give  them  to  eat  and 
drink  abundantly,  and  when  they  leave  a 
place,  accompany  them  with  instruments  of 
music,  till  they  arrive  at  some  other  place, 
where  the  same  tricks  are  practised. 

At  every  large  temple  there  is  at  least  yearly 
one  grand  procession.  The  idol  is  brought 
out  from  its  enclosure,  and  placed  in  a great 
car  or  chariot,  prepared  for  this  express  pur- 
pose. This  stands  upon  four  solid  wheels  of 
great  strength.  The  car  is  sometimes  forty  or 
fifty  feet  high. 

On  the  day  of  the  procession,  it  is  adorned 
with  painted  cloth,  garlands  of  flowers,  green 
shrubs,  and  precious  articles.  The  idol  is 
placed  in  the  centre,  loaded  with  jewels,  to  at- 
tract the  attention  of  the  people.  Having 
fastened  ropes  to  this  enormous  car,  eight  hun- 


58 


PICTURES  OP  HINDOO  LIFE. 


(lred  or  a thousand  people  catch  hold  of  the 
ropes  and  slowly  drag  it  along,  accompanied 
with  the  awful  roaring  of  their  voices.  At 
certain  periods  they  stop  ; when  the  immense 
crowds,  collected  from  all  parts  of  the  country, 
set  up  one  universal  shout,  or  rather  yell. 
This,  with  the  sound  of  their  instruments  and 
numerous  drums,  produces  much  uproar  and 
confusion.  Sometimes  the  weighty  car  comes 
to  a stand  from  the  dampness  of  the  ground, 
or  from  the  narrowness  of  the  streets,  when 
the.  tumult  and  noise  are  redoubled. 

On  some  occasions,  when  the  cars  are  drawn 
people  throw  themselves  under  the  wheels,  and 
are  crushed  to  death.  This  occurs  at  the  draw- 
ing of  the  car  of  Juggernaut.  Many  dreadful 
accidents  and  loss  of  life  also  take  place  at  the 
drawing  of  these  cars. 

In  times  of  sickness,  in  particular,  they  re- 
sort to  their  idol  temples.  On  one  occasion  a 
woman  afflicted  with  a cancer  was  brought  to 
Dr.  Scudder.  He  says,  “ Before  she  was 
brought  to  me,  her  brother  went  to  the  temple 
of  the  goddess  Meenaache,  to  ascertain  what 


HINDOO  TEMPLES  AND  IDOLS. 


59 


was  her  will  respecting  his  bringing  her  to  me, 
or  taking  her  to  a native  doctor.  In  order  to 
ascertain  it,  he  had  recourse  to  the  following 
expedient.  He  prepared  several  bundles  of 
red  and  white  flowers ; the  red  to  represent 
the  red  or  Tamil  man,  the  white  to  represent 
the  white  man.  These  flowers  were  carefully 
enclosed  in  leaves,  so  as  to  prevent  their  colour 
being  seen,  and  then  laid  down  on  the  ground, 
at  the  entrance  of  the  temple.  After  this,  he 
called  a little  child  to  him,  and  then  proceeded 
to  entreat  Meenaache  that,  if  it  were  her  will 
that  he  should  bring  the  sick  woman  to  me, 
she  would  direct  the  child  to  take  up  one  of 
the  parcels  containing  the  white  flowers.  It 
so  happened  that  the  child  took  up  one  of 
these  parcels.  Of  course,  he  brought  her  to 
me.  Had  it  taken  up  a parcel  containing  the 
red  flowers,  she  would  have  been  taken  to  a 
native  doctor.  May  we  not  hope  that,  not 
Meenaache,  but  the  Lord  directed  him  to  bring 
her  to  me,  that  she  might  hear — not  of  the 
false  goddess,  but  of  the  True  Physician  of  the 
soul  ? Of  him  she  has  now  fully  heard.” 


60 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

FESTIVALS  OF  THE  HINDOOS — WORSHIP  OF 
THE  SERPENT. 

The  Hindoos  have  many  festivals.  These 
are  all  occasions  of  joy  and  gladness.  On 
such  days  business  is  mostly  suspended. 
Friends  unite  in  parties,  and  give  entertain- 
ments, according  to  their  means.  Pastimes 
and  amusements,  some  of  them  very  innocent 
in  themselves,  are  resorted  to  as  a source  of 
pleasure. 

There  are  eighteen  principal  festivals  yearly, 
and  no  month  passes  without  one  or  more  of 
them.  One  of  the  most  important  of  these 
ceremonies  is  held  in  the  month  of  September, 
and  appears  to  be  chiefly  in  honour  of  Par- 
vati,  the  wife  of  Siva.  At  this  time  every 
labourer  and  every  artisan  offers  sacrifices 


FESTIVALS  OF  THE  HINDOOS. 


61 


and  prayers  to  his  tools.  The  labourer  brings 
his  plough,  hoe,  and  other  farming  utensils. 
He  piles  them  together,  and  offers  a sacrifice 
to  them,  consisting  of  flowers,  fruits,  rice,  and 
other  articles.  After  this,  he  prostrates  him- 
self before  them  at  full  length,  and  then  re- 
turns them  to  their  places.  The  mason  offers 
the  same  adoration  and  sacrifice  to  his  trowel, 
rule,  and  other  instruments.  The  carpenter 
adores  his  hatchet,  adze,  and  plane.  The 
barber  collects  his  razors  together,  and  wor- 
ships them  with  similar  rites.  The  writing- 
master  sacrifices  to  the  iron  pen  or  style,  with 
which  he  writes  upon  the  palmleaf ; the  tailor 
to  his  needles  ; the  weaver  to  his  loom  ; and 
the  butcher  to  his  cleaver. 

The  women,  on  this  day,  collect  into  a heap 
their  baskets,  rice-mill,  rice-pounder,  and 
other  household  utensils,  and,  after  having 
offered  sacrifices  to  them,  fall  down  and  wor- 
ship them.  The  tools  are  considered  as  so 
many  gods,  to  whom  they  present  their  pray er3 
that  they  will  continue  to  furnish  them  still 
with  the  means  of  getting  a livelihood. 

6 


62 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


This  feast  is  concluded  by  making  an  idol 
to  represent  Parvati.  It  is  made  of  the  paste 
of  grain,  and  being  placed  under  a sort  of 
canopy,  is  carried  through  the  streets  with 
great  pomp,  and  receives  the  worship  of  the 
people. 

Another  festival  is  observed  in  October. 
At  this  time,  each  person,  for  himself,  makes 
offerings  of  boiled  rice  and  other  food,  to  such 
of  their  relations  as  have  died,  that  they  may 
have  a good  supply  of  food  on  that  day.  They 
afterwards  offer  sacrifices  of  burning  lamps, 
of  fruit  and  of  flowers,  and  also  new  articles 
of  dress,  that  their  ancestors  may  be  freshly 
clothed.  At  this  festival,  soldiers  offer  sacri- 
fices to  their  weapons,  in  order  to  obtain  suc- 
cess in  war.  On  such  occasions,  a ram  is 
offered  in  sacrifice  to  their  armour. 

In  November,  a festival  is  observed,  which 
is  called  the  feast  of  lamps.  At  this  season, 
the  Hindoos  light  lamps,  and  place  them 
around  the  doors  of  their  houses.  The  festival, 
they  say,  was  established  to  commemorate  the 
deliverance  of  the  earth  from  a giant,  who 


FESTIVALS  OF  THE  HINDOOS. 


63 


had  been  a great  scourge  to  the  people.  He 
was  slain  by  Vishnoo,  after  a dreadful  battle. 
In  many  places,  on  this  day,  a sacrifice  is 
offered  to  the  dunghill,  which  is  afterwards  to 
enrich  the  ground.  In  the  villages,  each  one 
has  his  own  heap,  to  which  he  makes  his  of- 
fering of  burning  lamps,  fruit,  flowers,  etc. 

The  most  celebrated  of  all  the  festivals  is 
that  which  is  held  in  the  end  of  December. 
It  is  called  the  feast  of  Pongul,  and  is  a sea- 
son of  rejoicing  for  two  reasons : the  first  is, 
because  the  month  of  December,  every  day  of 
which  is  thought  to  be  unlucky,  is  about  to 
end ; and  the  other  is,  because  it  is  to  be  fol- 
lowed by  a month,  every  day  of  which  is  said 
to  be  fortunate.  For  the  purpose  of  prevent- 
ing the  evil  effects  of  this  month,  the  women 
every  morning  scour  a place  about  two  feet 
square  before  the  door  of  the  house,  upon 
which  they  draw  white  lines,  with  flour.  Upon 
these  they  place  several  little  balls  of  cow- 
dung,  sticking  in  each  a flower.  Each  day 
these  little  balls,  with  their  flowers,  are  pre- 


64 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


served,  and  on  the  last  day  of  the  month  they 
are  thrown  into  tanks  or  waste-places. 

The  first  day  of  this  festival  is  called  the 
Pongul  of  rejoicing.  Near  relatives  are  in- 
vited to  a feast,  which  passes  off  with  mirth 
and  gladness. 

The  second  day  is  called  the  Pongul  of  the 
Sun,  and  is  set  apart  to  worship  that  lumin- 
ary. Married  women,  after  bathing  them- 
selves, proceed  to  boil  rice  with  milk,  in  the 
open  air.  When  the  milk  begins  to  simmer, 
they  make  a loud  cry,  “ Pongul,  0 Pongul.” 
The  vessel  is  then  taken  from  the  fire,  and  set 
before  an  idol.  Part  of  this  rice  is  offered  to 
the  image,  and,  after  standing  there  for  some 
time,  it  is  given  to  the  cows.  The  remainder 
is  given  to  the  people.  This  is  the  great  day 
for  visiting  among  friends.  The  salutation 
begins  by  the  question,  “ Has  the  milk 
boiled?”  To  which  the  answer  is,  “ It  has 
boiled.”  From  this,  the  festival  takes  the 
name  of  Pongul,  which  signifies  “ to  boil.” 

The  third  day  is  called  the  Pongul  of  cows. 
In  a great  vessel,  filled  with  water,  they  put 


FESTIVALS  OF  THE  HINDOOS. 


65 


saffron  and  other  things.  These  being  well 
mixed,  they  go  around  the  cows  and  oxen 
belonging  to  the  house  several  times,  sprink- 
ling them  with  water.  After  this,  the  men 
prostrate  themselves  before  them  four  times. 
The  cows  are  then  dressed,  their  horns  being 
painted  with  various  colours.  Garlands  of 
flowers  are  also  put  round  their  necks,  and 
over  their  backs.  To  these  are  added  strings 
of  cocoa  nuts  and  other  kinds  of  fruit,  which, 
however,  are  soon  shaken  off  when  they  are 
in  motion,  and  are  picked  up  by  children  and 
others,  who  greedily  eat  what  they  gather  as 
something  sacred.  After  being  driven  through 
the  streets,  they  are  suffered,  during  the  day, 
to  feed  wherever  they  please,  without  a keeper. 
We  have,  however,  told  you  enough.  Are 
you  ready  to  exclaim,  Is  it  possible  that  a 
people  can  be  guilty  of  such  utter  folly  ? But 
you,  our  young  readers,  would  he  guilty  of 
just  such  folly,  if  you  had  not  the  Bible. 
Should  not  the  gratitude,  then,  which  you 
owe  to  your  heavenly  Father,  for  your  dis- 
tinguished mercies,  constrain  you  to  do  all 


66 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


that  you  can  to  send  this  blessed  book  to  this 
dark  land  ? 

Of  all  the  dangerous  creatures  found  in 
India,  there  are  none  that  cause  so  many 
deaths  as  serpents.  The  people  are  very 
much  exposed  to  their  bite,  especially  at  night, 
vrhen  they  are  walking  in  the  country.  They 
tread  upon  them,  and,  as  the  people  do  not 
generally  wear  shoes,  the  snakes  strike  their 
fangs  into  those  parts  of  the  feet  which  are 
nearest  to  the  place  where  the  pressure  is 
made  upon  their  bodies.  Sometimes  the  bite 
is  followed  by  almost  instant  death. 

The  cobra  capello  is  one  of  the  most  com- 
mon snakes,  and  one  of  the  most  poisonous. 
It  is  much  dreaded,  and  is  very  commonly 
met  with.  In  order  to  induce  the  people  to 
worship  this  dangerous  enemy,  the  Hindoos 
have  filled  their  books  with  tales  concerning 
it.  Figures  of  it  are  often  to  be  seen  in  the 
temples,  and  on  other  buildings.  They  seek 
out  their  holes,  which  are  generally  to  be 
found  in  the  hillocks  of  earth  which  are 


SERPENT  WORSHIP. 


67 


thrown  up  by  the  white  ants ; and  when  they 
find  one,  they  go  from  time  to  time  and  offer 
milk,  plantains,  and  other  good  things  to  it. 

A festival  is  held  for  the  purpose  of  wor- 
shipping this  serpent.  Temples  in  many 
places  are  erected  to  it,  of  which  there  is  one 
of  great  celebrity  in  Mysore.  When  the  fes- 
tival occurs  at  this  temple,  great  crowds  of 
people  come  together  to  offer  sacrifices  to  this 
creeping  god.  Many  serpents  besides  the  cobra 
capello  live  within  it,  in  holes  made  especially 
for  them.  All  of  these  are  kept  and  well  fed 
by  the  Brahmins  with  milk,  butter,  and  plan- 
tains. By  such  means  they  become  very 
numerous,  and  may  be  seen  swarming  from 
every  crevice  in  the  temple.  To  injure  or  to 
kill  one  would  be  considered  a great  crime. 

Many  of  the  natives  call  the  cobra  capello 
nulla  paampu,  that  is,  “ good  snake.”  They 
are  afraid  to  call  it  a bad  snake,  lest  it  should 
injure  them.  The  following  is  the  prayer 
which  is  offered  before  the  image  of  this  snake : 
“ 0 divine  Cobra,  preserve  and  sustain  us. 
0 Sheoh,  partake  of  these  offerings,  and  be 


68 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


gracious  unto  us.”  Thus  have  they,  like  the 
heathen  of  old  time,  “ changed  the  glory  of 
the  uncorruptible  God  into  an  image  made 
like  to  corruptible  man,  and  to  birds,  and 
four-footed  beasts,  and  creeping  things.” — 
(Rom.  i.  23.) 


HOW  THE  HINDOOS  DIE.  Page  69. 


WORSHIP  OF  THE  RIVER  GANGES.  69 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


WORSHIP  OF  THE  RIVER  GANGES. 


The  river  Ganges  is  so  called  after  the 
goddess  Gunga.  Hindoos  say  that  the  god- 
dess Gunga  came  down  from  heaven,  and 
divided  herself  into  one  hundred  streams, 
which  are  the  mouths  of  the  river  Ganges. 
All  classes  and  castes  worship  her.  The 
sight,  the  name,  or  the  touch  of  the  river 
Ganges  is  said  to  take  away  all  sin.  To  die 
on  the  edge  of  the  river,  or  to  die  pai’tly 
buried  in  the  stream,  drinking  its  waters, 
while  their  bodies  are  besmeared  with  mud, 
is  supposed  to  render  them  very  holy.  On 
this  account,  when  it  is  expected  that  a per- 
son will  die,  he  is  hurried  down  to  the  river, 
whether  willing  or  unwilling. 

Were  you  standing  on  the  banks  of  the 


70 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


Ganges,  you  might,  perhaps,  in  one  place  see 
two  or  three  young  men  carrying  a sick  female 
to  the  river.  If  you  should  ask  what  they 
are  going  to  do  with  her,  perhaps  they  would 
reply,  We  are  going  to  give  her  up  to  Gunga, 
to  purify  her  soul,  that  she  may  go  to  heaven  ; 
for  she  is  our  mother.  In  another  place  you 
might  see  a father  and  mother  sprinkling  a 
beloved  child  with  muddy  water,  endeavour- 
ing to  soothe  his  dying  agonies  by  saying, 
“ It  is  blessed  to  die  by  Gunga,  my  son ; to 
die  by  Gunga  is  blessed,  my  son.”  In  another 
place  you  might  see  a man  descending  from 
a boat  with  empty  waterpans  tied  around  his 
neck,  which  pans,  when  filled,  will  drag  down 
the  poor  creature  to  the  bottom,  to  be  seen  no 
more.  In  another  place  you  might  behold  a 
person  seated  in  the  water,  accompanied  by  a 
priest,  who  pours  down  the  throat  of  the  dying 
man  mud  and  water,  and  cries  out,  “ 0 mo- 
ther Gunga,  receive  his  soul.”  The  dying 
man  may  entreat  his  priest  to  desist,  but  his 
entreaties  are  drowned.  lie  persists  in  pour- 
ing the  mud  and  water  down  his  throat,  until 


WORSHIP  OF  THE  RIVER  GANGES.  71 


he  is  gradually  stifled,  suffocated,  in  the  name 
of  religion. 

After  a person  is  taken  down  to  the  river, 
if  he  should  recover,  it  is  looked  upon  by  his 
friends  as  a great  misfortune.  He  becomes 
an  outcast.  Even  his  own  children  will  not 
eat  with  him,  or  offer  him  the  least  attention. 
If  they  should  happen  to  touch  him,  they 
must  wash  their  bodies,  to  cleanse  them  from 
the  pollution  which  has  been  contracted. 
About  fifty  miles  north  of  Calcutta  are  two 
villages  inhabited  entirely  by  these  poor  crea- 
tures, who  have  become  outcasts  in  conse- 
quence of  their  recovery  after  having  been 
taken  down  to  the  Ganges. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  river  Hoogly,  which  is 
one  of  the  branches  of  the  Ganges,  is  the 
island  Saugor.  It  is  the  island  where,  for- 
merly, hundreds  of  mothers  were  in  the  habit 
of  throwing  their  children  to  the  sharks,  and 
where  these  mothers  were  wont  to  weep  and 
cry  if  the  sharks  did  not  devour  their  chil- 
dren before  their  eyes.  Think  what  a dread- 


72 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


ful  religion  that  must  be,  which  makes  mothers 
so  hard-hearted. 

We  are  glad  to  tell  you  that  the  English 
have  put  a stop  to  the  sacrifice  of  children  at 
that  place ; but  mothers  continue  to  destroy 
their  children  elsewhere,  and  will  continue  to 
destroy  them  until  they  are  led  to  receive  the 
truth  of  the  gospel,  which  will  soften  their 
hearts  and  sa notify  their  affections. 

That  the  gospel  does  prevent  such  things, 
the  following  circumstance  will  show  : — Seve- 
ral years  ago,  a missionary  lady  went  to  India. 
As  she  was  walking  out  one  morning,  on  the 
banks  of  the  Ganges,  she  saw  a heathen  mo- 
ther weeping.  She  went  up  to  her,  sat  down 
by  her  side,  put  her  hand  into  hers,  and  asked 
what  was  the  matter  with  her.  “ I have  just 
been  making  a basket  of  flags,”  said  she, 
“ and  putting  my  infant  in  it — pushing  it  off 
into  the  river,  and  drowning  it.  And  my 
gods  are  very  much  pleased  with  me,  because 
I have  done  it.”  After  this  missionary  lady 
had  heard  all  she  had  to  say,  she  told  her 
that  her  gods  were  no  gods ; that  the  only 


WORSHIP  OF  THE  RIVER  GANGES.  73 

true  God  delights  not  in  such  sacrifices,  hut 
turns  in  horror  from  them ; and  that  if  she 
would  be  happy  here  and  hereafter,  she  must 
forsake  her  sins,  and  pray  to  Jesus  Christ, 
who  died  to  save  sinners  like  herself.  This 
. conversation  was  the  means  of  the  conversion 
of  that  mother,  and  she  never  again  destroyed 
any  of  her  infants. 

Such  is  the  power  of  the  blessed  gospel. 
And  what  the  gospel  has  done  once,  it  can 
do  again.  If  Christians  will  send  it  to  them, 
with  the  blessing  of  God  the  time  will  soon 
come  when  heathen  mothers  will  no  more  des- 
troy their  children. 

See  that  heathen  mother  stand 
Where  the  sacred  currents  flow, 

With  her  own  maternal  hand, 

’Mid  the  waves  her  infant  throw. 

Hark,  I hear  the  piteous  scream  : 

Frightful  monsters  seize  their  prey, 

Or  the  dark  and  bloody  stream 
Bears  the  struggling  child  away. 

Fainter  now,  and  fainter  still, 

Breaks  the  cry  upon  the  ear  : 


7 


74 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


But  the  mother’s  heart  is  steel, 

She  unmoved  that  cry  can  hear. 

Send,  oh  send  the  Bible  there  ; 

Let  its  precepts  reach  the  heart : 
She  may  then  her  children  spare, 
Act  the  mother’s  tender  part. 


THE  GODDESS  DURGA. 


75 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  GODDESS  DURGA — THE  GODDESS  KALEE. 

From  what  was  said  in  the  last  chapter 
about  the  goddess  Gunga,  you  see  that  the 
Hindoos  worship  goddesses  as  well  as  as  gods. 
There  is  another  goddess  much  worshipped, 
the  wife  of  the  god  Siva.  They  say  that  she 
has  appeared  in  a thousand  forms,  with  a thou- 
sand different  names.  Of  all  these  thousand 
forms,  Durga  and  Kalee  are  the  most  regarded 
by  the  people. 

Durga  is  represented  with  ten  hands,  in 
which  she  holds  an  iron  club,  a trident,  a 
battle-axe,  spears,  thunderbolts,  and  other 
things.  Thus  armed,  she  is  ever  ready  to 
fight  with  her  enemies. 

Were  you  to  be  present  in  the  city  of  Cal- 


76 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


cutta  in  the  month  of  September,  you  might 
everywhere  see  the  people  busy  in  preparing 
for  the  yearly  festival  of  this  goddess.  Images 
representing  her  you  would  find  in  great  num- 
bers for  sale.  In  the  houses  of  the  rich, 
images  are  to  be  found  made  of  gold,  silver, 
brass,  copper,  crystal,  stone,  or  mixed  metal, 
which  are  daily  worshipped.  They  are  called 
permanent  images.  Besides  these,  multi- 
tudes of  what  are  called  temporary  images 
are  made — made  merely  for  the  occasion, 
and  then  destroyed.  They  may  be  made  of 
hay,  sticks,  clay,  wood,  or  other  such  things. 
Their  size  varies  from  a few  inches  to  twenty 
feet  in  height.  If  any  persons  are  too  poor  to 
buy  one  of  these  images,  they  can  make  them 
for  themselves.  When  the  festival  is  near  at 
hand,  people  are  seen  in  every  direction 
taking  the  images  to  their  houses.  After  they 
are  thus  supplied,  the  festival  commences.  It 
lasts  fifteen  days.  The  greater  part  of  this 
time  is  spent  in  preparing  for  the  three  great 
days  of  worship.  Early  on  the  morning  of 
the  first  of  the  three  great  days,  the  Brah- 


THE  GODDESS  DURGA. 


77 


mins  proceed  to  consecrate  the  images  or  to 
give  them,  as  they  suppose,  life  and  under- 
standing. Until  they  are  consecrated,  they 
are  not  thought  to  be  of  any  value.  They 
are  looked  upon  as  senseless.  A wealthy 
family  can  always  receive  the  services  of  one 
or  more  Brahmins,  and  a few  of  the  poor  may 
unite  and  secure  the  services  of  one  of  them. 
At  length  the  appointed  hour  arrives.  The 
Brahmin,  with  the  leaves  of  a sacred  tree, 
comes  near  the  image.  With  the  two  fore- 
fingers of  his  right  hand  he  touches  the  breast, 
the  two  cheeks,  the  eyes,  and  the  forehead 
of  the  image,  at  each  touch  saying  the  prayer, 
“ Let  the  spirit  of  Durga  descend  and  take 
possession  of  this  image.” 

After  the  image  is  consecrated,  the  worship 
begins.  The  devotee  comes  near  the  image, 
and  falls  down  before  it.  He  then  twists 
himself  into  a great  variety  of  shapes.  Some- 
times he  sits  on  the  floor,  sometimes  he  stands, 
sometimes  he  looks  in  one  direction,  some- 
times in  another.  Then  he  sprinkles  the  idol 
with  holy  water,  rinses  its  mouth,  washes  its 
7 * 


78 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


feet,  wipes  it  with  a dry  cloth,  throws  flowers 
over  it,  puts  jewels  on  it,  and  offers  perfumes 
to  it. 

The  worship  of  the  idol  is  succeeded  by  a 
season  of  carousing,  joy,  and  festivity.  On 
this  occasion  large  offerings  are  made  to  the 
idols.  A rich  native  has  been  known  to  offer 
eighty  thousand  pounds’  weight  of  sweet- 
meats, eighty  thousand  pounds  of  sugar,  a 
thousand  suits  of  cloth  garments,  a thousand 
suits  of  silk,  a thousand  offerings  of  rice, 
plantains,  and  other  fruits. 

After  the  worship  and  offerings  have  been 
continued  for  three  days,  the  festival  closes. 
As  the  morning  of  the  first  day  was  devoted 
to  the  consecration  of  the  images,  the  morning 
of  the  fourth  is  spent  in  unconsecrating  them. 
This  work  is  done  by  the  Brahmins.  They 
profess,  by  various  ceremonies,  to  send  back 
the  goddess  to  her  heaven,  concluding  with  a 
farewell  address,  in  which  they  tell  her  that 
they  expect  her  to  accept  of  all  their  services, 
and  return  and  pay  them  a visit  again  in  the 
coming  year.  Then  all  unite  in  bidding  her  a 


THE  GODDESS  KALEE. 


79 


sorrowful  adieu,  and  many  seem  affected  even 
to  the  shedding  of  tears. 

Soon  afterwards  the  images  are  carried  forth 
into  the  streets,  placed  on  stages  or  platforms, 
and  raised  on  men’s  shoulders.  As  the  pro- 
cession moves  onward  through  the  streets  ac- 
companied with  music  and  songs,  amid  clouds 
of  dust,  you  might  see  them  waving  long 
hairy  brushes  to  wipe  off  the  dust,  and  to 
keep  off  the  flies  and  mosquitoes,  which  might 
trouble  the  senseless  images.  When  all  the 
ceremonies  connected  with  the  occasion  are 
finished,  those  who  carry  them  suddenly  fall  up- 
on them,  break  them  to  pieces,  and  then  throw 
them  with  violence  into  the  river  Ganges. 
After  this  the  people  return  to  their  homes. 

The  goddess  Kalee  is  said  to  be  the  wife  of 
Siva.  Like  her  husband  she  has  the  power  of 
destruction.  From  the  images  made  of  her  it 
would  appear  that  she  is  of  a black  or  dark 
blue  colour,  and  has  four  arms.  In  one  hand 
she  holds  a sword,  and  in  another  a human 
head.  Her  hair  is  dishevelled,  reaching  down 


80 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


to  her  feet.  Her  countenance  is  most  fero- 
cious. Her  tongue  comes  out  of  her  mouth, 
and  hangs  over  her  chin.  She  has  three  eyes, 
■which  are  red  and  fiery.  Her  lips  and  eye- 
brows are  streaked  with  blood.  She  has  two 
dead  bodies  for  ear-rings,  and  around  her 
loins  is  a girdle  made  of  bleeding  hands, 
which  she  has  cut  olf  from  the  bodies  of  her 
enemies.  A necklace  of  skulls,  which  she 
took  from  the  bodies  of  the  giants  and  others 
killed  by  her,  complete  her  ornaments. 

Of  all  the  Hindoo  divinities,  this  goddess  is 
supposed  to  be  the  most  cruel  and  revengeful. 
Different  acts  are  performed  to  appease  her. 
If,  for  example,  a devotee  should  burn  his 
body,  and  apply  a burning  lamp  to  it,  it  would 
be  very  pleasing  to  her.  If  he  should  draw 
some  of  his  blood,  and  give  it  to  her  ; or  if 
he  should  cut  off  a piece  of  his  flesh,  and  offer 
it  as  a burnt  offering,  she  would  be  still  more 
pleased. 

It  is  said  that  she  will  be  gratified  for  three 
months,  if  the  people  offer  her  the  blood  of  a 
crocodile  : for  a thousand  years,  if  they  offer 


THE  GODDESS  KALEE. 


81 


her  the  blood  of  one  man  ; and  a hundred 
thousand  years,  if  they  offer  her  the  blood  of 
three. 

This  goddess  is  the  patroness  of  thieves. 
To  her  they  pay  their  devotions,  to  obtain 
help  to  carry  on  their  wicked  designs.  Gangs 
meet  together,  and,  after  having  offered  sacri- 
fices, and  worshipped  their  weapons,  and  hav- 
ing drunk  some  intoxicating  liquor,  and 
rubbed  their  bodies  with  oil,  they  go  forth  to 
rob.  They  have  a prayer,  which  they  offer 
when  they  worship  their  weapons.  It  it  as 
follows  : “ 0 instrument  formed  by  the  god- 
dess, Kalee  commands  thee  to  cut  a passage 
into  the  house,  to  cut  through  stones,  bones, 
bricks,  wrood,  the  earth,  and  mountains,  and 
cause  the  dust  thereof  to  be  carried  away  by 
the  wind.” 

Scattered  throughout  India,  there  is  a law- 
less set  of  men  whose  profession  is  to  get  their 
food  by  murder.  They  are  called  Thugs.  A 
gang  of  these  robbers  varies  from  a dozen  to 
sixty  or  seventy  persons.  These  divide  into 
small  parties.  Those  they  murder  are  tra- 


82 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


vellers,  whom  they  happen  to  meet  on  the 
road.  Sometimes  two  or  three  of  a gang  will 
take  up  their  station  in  a place  where  the 
traveller  stops,  and  while  he  sleeps  they  rouse 
him  from  his  sleep,  and  cast  a noose  over  his 
head  and  kill  him.  One  casts  the  noose  over 
his  head,  and  immediately  tightens  it  with  all 
his  strength  ; the  other  strikes  him  on  the 
joint  of  his  knees  as  he  rises,  which  causes 
him  to  fall  forwards.  After  he  has  fallen, 
they  kick  him  on  the  temples  till  he  dies, 
which  is  usually  in  a minute.  They  never 
commit  a murder  until  they  have  taken  every 
precaution  not  to  be  found  out.  They  will 
follow  a traveller  for  weeks,  if  necessary,  be- 
fore they  destroy  him.  After  they  have 
murdered  him,  they  gash  the  body  all  over 
and  bury  it.  They  think  it  to  be  a very  good 
act  to  give  a part  of  the  plunder,  which  they 
get  when  they  murder  a person,  to  their  god- 
dess. If  they  fail  to  put  him  to  death  accord- 
ing to  their  rules,  they  suppose  that  they  have 
made  her  angry,  and  they  make  offerings  to 
her,  that  she  may  be  reconciled. 


THE  GODDESS  KALEE. 


83 


Women  are  sometimes  admitted  to  the  soci- 
ety of  these  plunderers,  and,  on  some  occa- 
sions, are  allowed  to  apply  the  noose.  They 
select  a girl,  and  place  her  in  a convenient 
spot,  where,  by  a false  story  of  distress,  she 
may  decoy  some  unsuspecting  traveller,  and 
be  the  means  of  his  destruction.  Should  he 
be  on  horseback,  she  will  request  him  to  take 
her  up  behind  him,  as  she  is  weary;  after 
which,  when  an  opportunity  offers,  she  throws 
the  noose  over  his  head,  leaps  from  the  horse, 
drags  him  to  the  ground  and  strangles  him. 

An  instance  will  be  here  given.  It  hap- 
pened that  a horseman  of  Coorg,  in  the  Mad- 
ras presidency,  was  passing  by  a spot  where 
one  of  these  girls  was  stationed.  She  told 
him  a piteous  story  of  having  been  robbed 
and  badly  treated,  and  begged  him  to  assist 
her.  Feeling  sorry  for  her,  he  offered  to  take 
her  behind  him  on  his  horse,  and  thus  assist 
her  a few  miles  on  her  journey.  She  ex- 
pressed much  gratitude  for  his  kindness,  and 
mounted.  Soon  afterwards  she  suddenly 
passed  a noose  over  his  head,  and,  drawing  it 


84 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


with  all  her  might,  endeavoured  to  pull  him 
from  his  saddle.  At  this  moment  a number 
of  Thugs  started  from  the  neighbouring  thicket 
and  surrounded  him.  The  murderess  then 
slipped  from  the  horse ; but  the  Coorg  strik- 
ing his  heels  into  the  horse’s  sides,  it  threw 
out  its  hind  legs  with  great  violence,  and 
struck  to  the  ground  the  girl,  who  quickly  let 
go  the  cord.  He  then  drew  his  sword,  and, 
cutting  his  way  through  the  robbers,  effected 
his  escape.  He  wounded  two  of  them  severely. 
These  men  were  shortly  afterwards  taken, 
and  through  their  means,  twelve  others  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  officers  of  the  king  of 
Coorg,  including  the  girl  who  attempted  the 
murder.  They  were  all  put  to  death. 

Surely,  “ the  dark  places  of  the  earth  are 
full  of  the  habitations  of  cruelty.” 


SELF-TORTURES  OF  THE  HINDOOS.  85 


CHAPTER  X. 

SELF-TORTURES  OF  THE  HINDOOS. 

The  heathen  devise  various  means  by  which 
they  vainly  hope  to  obtain  the  favour  of  their 
gods.  It  is  customary  for  the  people  to  build 
very  high  cars  or  chariots,  and  cover  them 
with  very  beautiful  cloths.  They  also  tie  the 
cocoa  nut  blossom  and  plantain-tree  within 
them,  and  attach  great  ropes  to  them.  When 
they  are  ready  to  drag  these  cars,  or  chariots, 
they  bring  their  gods  of  gold  or  of  brass  from 
the  temples,  and  place  them  on  them.  Then 
one,  two,  three,  six,  nine  hundred,  and  even 
a thousand  persons,  when  the  cars  are  very 
large,  catch  hold  of  these  ropes  and  drag 
them  around  the  temple.  While  they  are 
doing  this,  many  of  the  heathen,  to  fulfil  vow3 
8 


86 


riCTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


which  tney  made  when  in  sickness,  and  at 
other  times  of  distress,  throw  themselves  on 
the  ground,  and  roll  over  from  side  to  side, 
and  frequently  much  injure  themselves. 

Others  swing  on  hooks,  which  are  passed 
through  some  part  of  their  backs.  Some- 
times they  swing  for  half  an  hour ; at  other 
times  an  hour.  The  longer  they  can  bear  the 
torture  of  the  swinging,  the  more  acceptable 
they  suppose  it  will  be  to  their  goddess.  It 
sometimes  happens  that  the  hooks  lose  their 
hold,  in  which  case  the  poor  creature  is  dashed 
to  the  ground.  When  this  occurs,  the  people 
look  on  him  with  the  greatest  abhorrence. 

Dr.  Scudder  attended  one  of  these  hook- 
swingings,  not  far  from  the  city  of  Madura. 
He  says  : “ Between  six  and  seven  o’clock  in 
the  morning,  the  man  who  was  to  be  swung 
made  his  appearance  for  a few  moments,  and 
then  disappeared.  The  hooks  by  which  he 
was  to  be  swung,  as  well  as  the  iron  rods  with 
which  a number  of  devotees  were  to  pierce 
their  sides,  were  carried  through  the  streets, 
and  held  up  that  they  might  be  seen  by  the 


SELF-TORTURES  OF  THE  HINDOOS.  87 

people.  Soon  afterwards  the  man  again 
appeared  with  the  hooks  in  his  back,  and  went 
up  to  the  end  of  the  beam  to  which  he  was  to 
be  fastened.  This  was  lowered.  Notwith- 
standing the  dense  multitudes  of  people,  I 
made  my  way  to  the  same  spot,  determined  to 
be  satisfied  whether  or  not  there  was  any 
deception  in  the  application  of  the  hooks.  But 
there  was  none.  They  pass  through  the  skin, 
on  the  sides  of  the  backbone.  To  these  hooks 
were  attached  yellow  ropes,  by  which  he  was 
fastened  to  one  end  of  the  beam.  This  being 
done,  the  men,  five  or  six  in  number,  who  had 
hold  of  the  ropes  fastened  to  the  end  of  the 
beam,  and  which  was  then,  of  course,  high  in 
the  air,  drew  him  up  until  the  beam  lay  hori- 
zontally. Then,  after  making  him  perform 
one  circular  motion  around  the  car,  they 
elevated  him.  When  thus  elevated,  it  was 
thought  that  he  was  forty  feet  from  the 
ground.  All  being  ready,  the  people  seized 
the  ropes  of  the  car,  and  began  to  draw  it. 
Mr.  Chandler  and  myself  accompanied  it 
through  the  streets,  until  it  came  to  the  place 


88 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


from  -which  it  set  out.  The  distance  of 
ground  passed  over  was  at  least  half  a mile, 
and  the  time  in  which  the  journey  was  accom- 
plished was  more  than  an  hour. 

“ The  man  who  was  swung  was  adorned 
with  flowers  and  other  ornaments.  He  had  a 
tinselled  turban  on  his  head.  His  body  was 
rubbed  over  with  a yellow  paste,  made,  most 
probably,  from  the  sandal-wood.  Round  his 
ankles  were  rings,  hung  with  little  hells,  which 
he  made  to  tinkle,  as  he  was  swinging,  b7 
striking  his  legs  together.  He  wore  a dark 
or  black  pair  of  pantaloons,  which  came  a 
little  below  the  knees,  and  which  had  a border 
of  gold  round  them.  He  held  a handkerchief 
in  one  hand,  and  a knife  somewhat  resem- 
bling a dagger  in  the  other.  These  he  kept  in 
constant  motion,  by  moving  his  arms.  On 
one  occasion,  a bunch  of  plantains  was  tied  to 
one  of  the  long  ropes  which  hung  down  by  the 
side  of  the  swinger.  These  he  drew  up,  and 
afterwards  scattered  over  the  people  on  a 
house  opposite  to  him. 

“ After  following  the  car  for  a quarter  of  a 


SELF-TORTURES  OF  THE  HINDOOS.  89 

mile  or  more,  we  went  before  it,  and  there 
witnessed  another  appalling  sight.  There 
were  five  or  six  men,  who  had  the  rods  of  iron 
which  J just  mentioned  passed  through  the 
skin  of  their  sides.  They  were  dancing  along, 
and,  as  they  danced,  they  made  these  rods  go 
backward  and  forward  through  the  skin. 

“ After  the  car  had  reached  the  place  from 
which  it  set  out,  the  end  of  the  beam  from 
which  the  man  was  swinging  was  then  lowered, 
and  he  was  untied.  Again  I looked  very 
carefully  at  the  hooks  in  the  back.  The  peo- 
ple say  that  no  blood  is  shed  by  their  intro- 
duction, and  consider  this  to  be  a miracle. 
The  falsity  of  this  assertion  was  shown  by  the 
blood  which  I saw  on  the  side  of  one  of  the 
wounds. 

“ I have  been  long  in  this  country,  and 
consequently  have  become  so  familiarized  with 
heathenism,  that  my  feelings,  though  deeply 
wounded  at  this  sight,  were  not  so  keenly 
affected  as  were  those  of  my  new  associate, 
Mr.  Chandler.  He  has  been  on  heathen 
ground  but  a short  time.  When  they  tied 
8 * 


90 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


the  man  to  the  beam  he  was  unnerved,  and 
well-nigh  overcome  ; and  he  told  me,  that  dur- 
ing all  the  time  he  was  following  the  car,  he 
felt  as  if  he  were  shedding  tears.” 

On  the  evening  of  the  day  on  which  the 
swinging  takes  place,  another  act  of  great 
cruelty  is  practised.  Devotees  throw  them- 
selves from  the  top  of  a high  wall,  or  a scaf- 
fold of  twenty  or  thirty  feet  in  height,  upon  a 
bed  of  iron  spikes,  or  on  hags  of  straw  with 
knives  in  them.  Many  are  often  mangled 
and  torn.  Others  are  quickly  killed. 

At  night,  many  of  the  devotees  sit  down  in 
the  open  air,  and  pierce  the  skin  of  their  fore- 
heads, by  inserting  a small  rod  of  iron.  To 
this  is  suspended  a lamp,  which  is  kept  burn- 
ing till  daylight. 

Sometimes  bundles  of  thorns  are  collected 
before  the  temple,  among  which  the  devotees 
roll  themselves  without  any  covering.  These 
thorns  are  then  set  on  fire,  when  they  briskly 
dance  over  the  flames. 

Other  devotees  swing  before  a slow  fire ; 
some  stand  between  two  fires ; while  some 


SELF-TORTURES  OF  THE  HINDOOS.  91 

have  their  breast,  arms,  and  other  parts  stuck 
entirely  full  of  pins,  about  the  thickness  of 
small  nails,  or  packing  needles. 

Another  very  cruel  torture  is  practised. 
Some  of  the  devotees  make  a vow.  With  one 
hand  they  cover  their  under  lip  with  wet  earth 
or  mud.  On  this,  with  the  other  hand,  they 
place  some  small  grains,  usually  of  mustard- 
seed.  They  then  stretch  themselves  flat  on 
their  backs,  exposed  to  the  dews  of  night,  and 
the  blazing  and  scorching  sun  by  day.  Their 
vow  is,  that  from  this  position  they  will  not 
stir,  that  they  will  not  move  nor  turn,  nor  eat 
nor  drink,  till  the  seeds  planted  on  their  lips 
begin  to  sprout.  This  usually  takes  place  on 
the  third  or  fourth  day.  After  this  they 
arise,  and  then  think  that  they  are  very  holy. 

Some  devotees  hold  up  one  or  both  arms, 
until  the  muscles  become  rigid,  and  their  limbs 
become  shrivelled  into  stumps. 

Some  stretch  themselves  on  beds  of  iron 
spikes.  Others  wear  great  square  irons  on 
their  necks,  each  nearly  two  feet  in  length 
and  two  feet  in  breadth.  These  they  put  on 


92 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


for  the  purpose  of  fulfilling  some  vow  which 
they  have  made. 

But  we  will  not  continue  this  subject.  You 
perceive  what  a wretched  religion  that  must 
be  which  encourages  its  followers  to  perform 
such  acts.  And  how  vain  are  all  these  acts — 
how  utterly  destitute  are  they  of  any  merit  ! 
The  Christian  religion  encourages  no  such 
things.  It  tells  us  to  perform  no  pilgrimages 
to  holy  places,  to  inflict  no  self-tortures.  But 
it  has  its  requirements,  and  these  are  very 
simple,  and  may  easily  be  performed,  through 
the  assisting  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  by  all 
who  are  willing  to  do  their  duty.  These  re- 
quirements are,  faith  in  Christ,  repentance, 
forsaking  sin,  and  devotedness  to  the  service 
of  God.  Have  you,  reader,  attended  to 
these  ? If  not,  you  are  in  a much  worse 
condition  than  these  poor  heathen  of  whom 
you  have  been  reading.  They  are  not  as 
guilty  before  God  as  you  are.  They  know 
not  their  Master’s  will.  That  servant  who 
knows  his  Lord’s  will,  and  prepares  not  him- 
self, neither  does  according  to  his  will,  shall 


SELF-TORTURES  OF  THE  HINDOOS.  93 

be  beaten  with  many  stripes.  But  he  that 
knows  not,  and  does  commit  things  worthy 
of  stripes,  shall  be  beaten  with  few  stripes. 
Remember,  unto  whom  much  is  given,  of 
them  much  will  be  required. 


94 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

SUTTEES — CRUELTIES  OF  THE  KHONDS. 

The  inhuman  practice  of  burning  a widow 
with  the  dead  body  of  her  husband,  formerly 
was  common  among  the  Hindoos.  But  under 
the  British  Government  it  has  now  nearly  or 
wholly  ceased,  though  it  is  still  found  among 
some  tribes  under  the  rule  of  native  princes. 

The  following  account,  by  an  eye-witness, 
will  show  the  nature  of  this  wretched  and 
cruel  ceremony : — A merchant  having  died, 
his  wife,  who  was  about  thirty  years  old,  de- 
termined to  burn  herself  with  his  corpse.  The 
news  of  what  she  was  going  to  do,  quickly 
spread  in  every  direction,  and  large  numbers 
of  people  collected  to  witness  the  burning. 
After  she  was  adorned  with  jewels,  and 
dressed  in  her  best  clothing,  and  after  her 


SUTTEES. 


95 


body  'was  tinged  with  the  yellow  infusion  of 
sandal-wood  and  saffron,  bearers  arrived  to 
take  away  the  corpse,  with  the  wretched 
woman.  The  body  of  the  man  was  placed  on 
a car,  ornamented  with  costly  stuffs  and 
flowers.  There  he  was  seated  like  a living 
man,  elegantly  decorated  with  all  his  jewels, 
and  clothed  in  rich  attire. 

The  corpse  being  carried  first,  the  wife 
followed  in  a rich  palanquin.  As  she  went 
along,  the  surrounding  multitudes  of  people 
stretched  out  their  hands  towards  her  to  show 
how  much  they  admired  her  conduct.  The 
women  in  particular  went  up  to  her  to  wish 
her  joy,  apparently  desiring  to  receive  her 
blessing,  or  at  least  that  she  would  pronounce 
over  them  some  pleasing  word.  She  tried  to 
satisfy  them  all,  saying  to  one  that  she  would 
long  continue  to  enjoy  her  worldly  happiness, 
and  to  another,  that  she  would  be  the  mother 
of  many  beautiful  children.  Another  was 
informed  that  she  would  soon  ari’ive  at  great 
honour  in  the  world.  These,  and  similar  ex- 
pressions, she  made  to  all  who  came  near  her, 


96 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


and  they  departed  with  the  full  belief  that 
they  would  enjoy  all  the  blessings  of  which 
she  had  spoken.  She  also  distributed  among 
them  some  betel-leaves,  which  they  gladly 
received  as  relics,  or  as  something  of  blessed 
influence. 

During  the  whole  procession,  which  was 
very  long,  her  countenance  was  serene  and 
even  cheerful,  until  they  came  to  the  pile 
upon  which  she  was  to  die.  Then  she  sud- 
denly became  pensive.  She  no  longer  at- 
tended to  what  was  passing  around  her.  Her 
looks  were  wildly  fixed  upon  the  pile.  Her 
face  grew  pale.  She  trembled  with  fear,  and 
seemed  ready  to  faint  away. 

The  Brahmins,  who  took  the  lead  in  this  cere- 
mony, with  her  relations,  seeing  her  sad  con- 
dition, ran  to  her,  and  endeavoured  to  restore 
her  spirits;  but  she  seemed  not  to  know  what 
they  said,  and  answered  not  a word.  They 
then  made  her  quit  the  palanquin,  and  her 
nearest  relatives  took  her  to  a pond  of  water 
which  was  near  the  pile,  where  they  washed 
her.  They  next  attended  her  to  the  pile,  on 


SUTTEES. 


97 


which  the  corpse  of  her  husband  had  already 
been  laid.  It  was  surrounded  with  Brahmins, 
each  with  a lighted  torch  in  one  hand,  and  a 
bowl  of  melted  butter  in  the  other,  all  ready, 
as  soon  as  the  poor  victim  was  placed  on  the 
pile,  to  envelope  her  in  fire. 

The  relatives,  armed  with  muskets,  sabres, 
and  other  weapons,  stood  closely  around  in  a 
double  line,  for  the  purpose,  it  was  said,  of 
making  her  afraid,  if  she  might  wish  to  draw 
back,  or  of  frightening  anybody  who  might 
pity  her,  and  endeavour  to  rescue  her. 

At  length  the  time  for  firing  the  pile  being 
proclaimed,  the  young  widow  was  stripped  of 
her  jewels  and  led  on  towards  the  pile.  She 
was  then  commanded  to  walk  three  times 
round  it,  two  of  her  nearest  relations  support- 
ing her  by  the  arms.  The  first  round  she  ac- 
complished with  tottering  steps  ; but  in  the 
second  her  strength  forsook  her,  and  she 
fainted  away  in  the  arms  of  those  who  were 
holding  her.  They  were  obliged  to  drag  her 
between  them  for  the  third  round.  Then, 
senseless,  she  was  thrown  upon  the  corpse  of 
9 


98 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


her  husband.  At  that  instant  the  multitude 
made  the  air  to  ring  with  their  shouts  of  glad- 
ness, while  the  Brahmins  poured  the  butter 
on  the  dry  wood,  and  applied  the  torches. 
Instantly  the  whole  pile  was  in  a blaze. 

As  soon  as  the  flames  began  to  rage,  the 
poor  woman,  now  in  the  midst  of  them,  was 
called  upon  by  name  from  all  sides  ; but,  as  in- 
sensible as  the  corpse  on  which  she  lay,  she 
made  no  answer.  She  passed  into  eternity, 
suffocated  at  once,  probably,  by  the  flames. 

There  have  been  many  other  shocking  cases 
of  suttees,  where  widowed  mothers  have  plead- 
ed with  their  own  sons  to  save  them  from  so 
painful  a death,  but  have  pleaded  in  vain. 
But  we  pass  them  by.  It  is  hoped  that  the 
practice  will  never  be  revived  in  British  In- 
dia. 


At  a place  called  Goomsoor,  not  far  from 
the  great  temple  of  Juggernaut,  there  is  a 
race  of  people  called  Ivhonds,  who  offer  up 
human  sacrifices  in  a very  horrid  manner. 
Their  victims  are  generally  bought  or  stolen 


CRUELTIES  OF  THE  EHONDS. 


99 


from  the  low  country,  and  sold  to  them  for  this 
purpose. 

The  accounts  of  these  sacrifices  are  too 
painful  to  dwell  on  ; and  they  are  here  only 
referred  to  that  we  may  be  led  to  pity  the 
poor  deluded  Hindoos,  pray  for  them,  and 
as  far  as  we  can,  deliver  them  from  their 
dreadful  bondage.  British  officers  and  others 
have  rescued  many  victims  who  were  on  the 
point  of  being  slain.  Captain  Campbell  saved 
at  one  time  no  less  than  one  hundred  and 
three  children  of  different  ages,  who  were  set 
apart  to  be  sacrificed. 

Of  the  children  thus  rescued,  many  have 
been  sent  by  the  British  Government  to  the 
schools  which  have  been  established  by  the 
missionaries.  Connected  with  a station  where 
an  esteemed  missionary  resided,  a station 
about  ten  miles  distant  from  the  first  range 
of  mountains  inhabited  by  the  Khonds,  there 
are  two  schools,  one  for  the  boys  and  the 
other  for  the  girls  who  have  been  delivered 
from  this  wretched  people.  A few  years  ago, 
a number  of  these  rescued  victims  arrived  at 


100  PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 

the  gate  of  the  mission-house,  on  their  way  to 
the  sea-coast.  The  children  of  the  schools 
went  out  to  see  them.  Belonging  to  the  fe- 
male school,  there  was  a little  girl  who 
thought  that  she  recognized  her  brother 
among  the  strangers.  In  a few*  minutes  she 
was  seen  coming  forward,  leading  him  by  the 
hand,  and  was  heard  exclaiming  with  joy,  “I 
have  found  my  brother.”  The  missionary 
said  to  her,  “ How  do  you  know  that  he  is 
your  brother?  Perhaps  you  are  mistaken.” 
“Oh,  no,”  said  she,  “I  am  not  mistaken. 
I thought  when  I saw  him  at  the  gate,  that 
he  looked  just  like  a little  brother  I had  when 
I was  taken  from  my  home,  only  he  was 
smaller.  So  I said  to  myself,  ‘ If  he  is  my 
brother,  he  will  know  his  own  name.’  So  I 
called  out  Pod,  Pod,  and  he  lifted  up  his  head 
and  came  running  to  my  arms.”  And  this 
sister  wept  over  her  little  brother,  and  kissed 
him,  and  at  last,  catching  him  up,  she  bore 
him  away  to  her  school-room. 

The  Bev.  Mr.  Sutton  relates  the  case  of 
two  brothers  who  met  under  similar  circurn- 


CRUELTIES  OF  TIIE  KHONDS.  101 

stances.  They  had  both  been  sold  at  differ- 
ent times  to  the  Khonds,  for  sacrifices,  by  their 
cruel  and  unnatural  uncle. 

Among  the  victims  formerly  rescued  from 
the  Khonds,  there  was  a very  awkward  lad 
who  was  called  David.  Great  pains  were 
taken  to  instruct  him  ; but  he  was  so  stupid 
that  all  efforts  appeared  to  be  useless.  At 
last  he  was  devoted  to  the  work  of  sweeping 
the  premises  of  the  mission-house.  “ At  this 
time,”  says  Mr.  Sutton,  “ our  school  was  very 
full,  and  many  of  the  young  natives  had  been 
converted.  All  at  once,  a ray  of  intelligence 
seemed  to  break  upon  the  mind  of  poor  David. 
He  appeared  suddenly  to  be  possessed  of  new 
faculties.  All  were  astonished  at  his  under- 
standing and  his  answers.  He  now  applied 
himself  so  diligently,  and  profited  so  much 
by  the  instruction  afforded,  that  he  was  subse- 
quently received  into  our  church.  Soon  after- 
wards, he  was  taken  into  the  printing-office, 
and,  as  he  made  rapid  advances  in  his  new 
business,  he  was  made  a compositor.  While 
thus  engaged,  and  amazing  us  all  by  his  sud- 


102 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


den  proficiency,  there  appeared  on  his  skin 
numerous  white  spots — the  first  indications  of 
leprosy,  a very  common  and  also  a very  fatal 
disease  in  India. 

We  immediately  sent  him  to  the  hospital, 
and  every  care  was  taken  of  him  ; but  each  of 
the  white  spots  became  a putrid  ulcer,  and  his 
limbs  were  much  eaten  away.  Nothing  could 
arrest  the  progress  of  his  malady,  or  save  his 
life  ; and  as  there  was  danger  that  he  might 
communicate  his  disease  to  others  by  coming 
in  contact  with  them,  the  doctor  directed  that 
he  should  be  kept  by  himself.  A tent  was 
provided  for  him,  from  which  he  -would  creep 
at  service-time  to  the  door  of  our  preaching- 
room,  and  join  in  the  service.  A more  inter- 
ested listener  I never  beheld.  One  day  I 
went  with  my  wife  to  pay  him  a visit.  He 
was  stretched  on  his  mat.  His  Testament 
was  close  to  his  side.  His  hymn-book  was  in 
his  hand,  and  we  saw  that  his  attention  had 
been  riveted  on  the  following  verses  : 

“ Of  all  that  decks  the  field  or  bower, 

Thou  art  the  fairest,  sweetest  flower  ; 


CRUELTIES  OF  THE  KIIONDS.  103 


Then,  blessed  Jesus,  let  not  me 
In  thy  kind  heart  forgotten  be. 

Day  after  day  youth’s  joys  decay, 

Death  waits  to  seize  the  trembling  prey  ; 

Then,  blessed  Jesus,  let  not  me 
In  thy  kind  heart  forgotten  be.’ 

When  we  left  his  tent,  my  wife  said  to  me, 
with  great  emotion,  ‘ There  lies  an  heir  of 
glory  ; for  though,  like  Lazarus,  he  is  full  of 
sores,  like  Lazarus  also  he  is  rich  in  assured 
hope.’ 

“ Soon  after  this,  the  spirit  of  this  afflicted 
but  happy  youth  took  its  flight,  as  we  have 
every  reason  to  believe,  to  the  bosom  of  his 
Saviour — rescued  by  the  English  from  the 
hands  of  the  cruel  Khonds,  and  rescued  from 
eternal  ruin  through  his  having  been  sold  to 
them  for  the  purpose  of  being  sacrificed.  How 
wonderful  are  the  ways  of  Providence  !” 


104 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

TRICKS  OF  HINDOO  PRIESTS — SUPERSTITIONS 
OF  THE  PEOPLE. 

The  tricks  of  the  priests  are  numerous,  are 
often  very  ingenious,  and  are  at  all  times 
very  wicked.  A late  head  catechist  of  one  of 
the  missionaries  was,  before  his  conversion, 
the  priest  of  a temple.  A man,  from  whom 
about  one  thousand  rupees’  worth  of  jewels  and 
similar  things  had  been  stolen,  came  to  this 
priest,  and  promised  to  reward  him  well  if  he 
would  detect  the  thief  and  secure  to  him  the 
restoration  of  his  property.  The  priest  pro- 
mised to  comply  with  his  wishes  ; and  in  order 
to  effect  his  purpose,  he  had  drums  beaten 
through  the  village,  and  proclaimed  that  at  a 
certain  time  he  would  hold  a meeting  and  de- 


TRICKS  OF  HINDOO  PRIESTS.  105 

tect  the  thief.  At  the  appointed  time,  a large 
concourse  of  people  assembled,  the  priest,  ap- 
pearing in  the  midst  of  them  with  a cocoa-nut 
bound  around  with  saffron-coloured  cords. 
He  then  told  them  that  if,  after  putting  down 
the  cocoa-nut,  it  should  move  of  its  own  accord 
towards  him,  they  might  know  that  he  would 
be  able  certainly  to  detect  the  thief ; and  ad- 
ded, that  after  it  had  thus  moved,  it  would 
pursue  the  offender,  and  follow  him  until  it 
would  break  his  head.  He  then  performed 
certain  ceremonies  calculated  to  awaken  super- 
stitious feelings  in  the  minds  of  the  people, 
and  laid  the  cocoa-nut  down  at  a little  dis- 
tance from  him.  To  the  great  amazement  of 
all  present,  it  began  to  move  towards  the 
priest,  and  continued  to  move  until  it  reached 
his  feet.  This  being  done,  he  told  the  people 
that  they  might  conclude  from  what  they  had 
seen,  that  the  cocoa-nut  would  follow  the 
thief  until  it  would  break  his  head.  He  con- 
sented, howrever,  to  give  him  a little  grace — 
to  spare  his  life  until  the  next  day  : adding 
his  advice,  that  the  thief,  whoever  he  might 


106 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


be,  had  better  come  to  him  privately,  and  tell 
him  where  the  property  was.  In  the  dead  of 
the  night  a tap  was  heard  at  the  door  of 
the  priest ; the  thief  presented  himself,  and 
delivered  up  the  property.  The  priest  re- 
ceived a present  from  the  owner  of  the 
property,  and  rewarded  the  thief  for  his 
promptness.  After  this  man  was  converted, 
he  was  asked  how  he  contrived  to  make  the 
cocoa-nut  move  towards  him.  “ Why,  sir,” 
he  answered,  “ if  you  will  carefully  divide  a 
cocoa-nut,  scoop  out  the  kernel  from  one-half 
of  it,  enclose  a strong  lively  rat,  put  the  parts 
of  the  cocoa-nut  together,  and  bind  the  whole 
with  saffron-cords,  to  prevent  the  crack  being 
seen,  and  then  place  it  on  a declivity  pre- 
viously prepared,  it  is  clear  that  if  you  place 
yourself  at  the  foot  of  this  declivity,  the  rat 
will  twirl  the  cocoa-nut,  and  cause  it  to  descend 
until  it  reaches  your  feet.” 

The  people  of  India  are  very  superstitious. 
It  is  said  that  no  act,  however  good  it  may  be, 
if  performed  on  Sunday,  will  succeed.  Some 
will  not  eat  at  all  on  Sunday,  until  they  have 


SUPERSTITIONS  OF  THE  PEOPLE.  107 


seen  a certain  bird — tbe  bird  on  which  the 
god  Yishnoo  rides.  If  a man  has  his  hair 
cut  on  Tuesday,  he  will  become  poor.  Even 
to  worship  the  gods  on  Wednesday  is  bad. 
If  a person  takes  medicine  on  Thursday,  his 
sickness  will  be  increased.  Should  he  lend 
anything  on  Friday,  he  will  lose  his  property. 
If  he  should  buy  a new  cloth  on  Saturday, 
take  it  home,  and  keep  it  there,  death  may 
be  the  consequence.  Should  he  die  on  this 
day,  some  other  member  of  the  family  will 
die  on  the  following  week. 

If  the  foundation  of  a house  is  laid  in  June, 
the  destruction  of  that  house  will  follow. 
Should  a family  enter  a new  house  in  March, 
some  member  of  the  family  will  die.  If  a 
marriage  is  celebrated  in  September,  the  hus- 
band and  wife  will  fight  with  each  other. 

Should  a thunderbolt  fall  on  a house,  or  a 
vulture  alight  on  it,  some  evil  will  befall  the 
people  living  in  it.  If  a crow  should  strike 
any  person  on  the  head  with  its  wings,  some 
of  his  relations  will  die.  Should  a cat  or  a 
snake  cross  his  path,  it  would  be  an  indica- 


108  PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 

tion  of  evil.  In  the  latter  case,  one  of  his 
relations  will  die.  If,  when  returning  home, 
a person  should  meet  him  bearing  a light,  a 
quarrel  will  be  the  result. 

After  a person  has  left  his  house,  should 
he  meet  a single  Brahmin,  or  a woman  who 
has  had  her  head  shaved,  or  a dumb  or  a blind 
man,  or  a washerman  or  a barber,  the  object 
for  which  he  left  would  not  succeed.  Or, 
when  going  out,  should  he  hit  his  head  against 
the  top  of  the  door-frame,  or  should  any  one 
ask  him  where  he  was  going,  or  should  he 
happen  to  sneeze,  he  would  consider  these 
things  as  hindrances  to  his  going,  and  re-enter 
the  house. 

Should  a son  or  a daughter  be  born  on  the 
new  moon  in  April,  they  will  become  thieves. 
If  a person  is  born  under  the  planet  Saturn, 
he  will  be  slandered,  his  riches  will  be  dissi- 
pated, and  his  wife,  son,  and  friends  will  be 
destroyed.  He  will  also  be  at  variance  with 
others,  and  endure  many  sufferings.  Should 
he  be  born  under  the  planet  Mars,  he  will 
be  full  of  anxious  thoughts,  be  impris- 


SUPERSTITIONS  OF  THE  PEOPLE.  109 

oned,  and  oppressed  with  fear  from  robbers, 
fire,  etc.  He  also  will  lose  his  lands,  trees, 
and  good  name. 

If  a person  dreams  that  a monkey  has  bitten 
him,  he  will  die  in  six  months  ; or  if  he  dreams 
that  bedbugs,  in  large  numbers,  are  creeping 
over  his  body  to  bite  him,  he  will  die  in  eight 
days.  Should  he  dream  that  a dog  has  bitten 
him,  he  will  die  in  three  years ; or  should  he 
dream  that  a dead  person  has  appeared  to 
him  and  spoken  to  him,  he  will  die  imme- 
diately. 

If  a man  has  a little  head,  he  will  become 
rich.  If  he  has  a large  head,  he  will  be  poor. 
If  his  forehead  is  wide,  he  will  live  a hundred 
years.  If  he  has  a small  neck,  he  will  be  a 
murderer.  If  the  second  toe  is  long,  he  will 
be  a bad  man.  If  a woman  has  curly  hair,  she 
will  not  prosper.  If  her  nose  is  long,  she 
will  have  a good  disposition.  If  her  ear  is 
wide,  she  will  tell  falsehoods.  If  she  has  a 
mole  on  her  nose,  she  will  he  subject  to  anger ; 
if  on  her  lips,  she  will  be  learned ; if  on  the 
eye-brows,  she  will  be  cunning. 

10 


no 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


We  might  continue  to  fill  a number  of  pages 
with  things  of  the  same  description  ; but  only 
one  instance  more  will  he  given.  On  a cer- 
tain night  in  the  month  of  November,  the 
people  will  not  look  at  the  moon.  The  reason 
assigned  for  this  is  as  follows.  Once,  when 
the  elephant-faced  god  Pulliar  was  dancing 
before  the  gods,  the  moon  laughed  at  him,  and 
told  him  that  he  had  a large  stomach,  and  ear 
like  a winnowing-fan.  This  so  enraged  him, 
that  he  cursed  her.  This  curse  was  inflicted 
on  the  night  above  mentioned. 

How  does  the  wretchedness  of  a people  show 
itself  where  the  Bible  is  unknown  ! If  this 
blessed  book  did  no  more  than  remove  the 
temporal  miseries  of  men,  how  invaluable 
would  it  be  ! Of  how  much  more  value,  then, 
is  it,  in  reference  to  the  removal  of  their 
spiritual  miseries  ! 


THE  GOSPEL  AMONG  THE  HINDOOS.  Ill 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

SUCCESS  OF  THE  GOSPEL  AMONG  THE 
HINDOOS. 

For  more  than  one  hundred  years  Protes- 
tant missionaries  have  laboured  in  India.  The 
results  have  been  very  blessed.  A land  once 
covered  with  moral  darkness,  has  now  in  it 
many  a bright  spot.  Thousands  of  the  hea- 
then have  forsaken  their  idols,  and  have  be- 
come believers  in  Jesus.  In  their  hearts  the 
same  faith,  love,  peace,  and  hope  are  felt ; and 
in  their  lives  the  same  zeal,  devotedness,  and 
consistency  are  seen,  as  are  manifested  by 
believers  in  our  own  land.  When  the  Holy 
Spirit  converts  the  heathen  they  are  brought 
to  trust  in  the  same-  God,  to  love  the  same 
Saviour,  and  to  show  the  same  Christian  graces 
and  tempers,  and  to  enjoy  the  same  hope  in 


112  PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 

death,  as  do  those  who  were  born  into  a more 
privileged  condition.  It  may  be  said  of  them 
as  of  others,  “ By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know 
them.”  Matt.  vii.  16. 

There  are  nearly  seven  hundred  Protestant 
clergymen  and  ministers  labouring  in  India  at 
the  present  time.  Their  work  is  chiefly  mis- 
sionary. Besides  these,  there  are  thousands 
of  native  catechists,  schoolmasters,  and  other 
assistants,  raised  up  from  among  the  con- 
verts ; and  native  Christian  churches  and 
schoolhouses  now  stand  on  spots  once  wholly 
given  up  to  idolatry. 

From  the  wide  missionary  field  of  India  we 
will  glean  a few  facts,  to  show  the  nature  and 
the  results  of  the  good  work. 

THE  CONVERTED  SEPOY. 

A native  named  Taj-Khan,  had  grown  old 
as  a sepoy.  Sepoy  is  the  name  given  to  one 
who  engages  as  a soldier  in  the  English  ser- 
vice. One  day  he  went  to  hear  a missionary 
preach,  at  a place  not  far  from  where  he  lived. 


THE  CONVERTED  SEPOY. 


113 


What  he  then  heard,  made  him  wish  to  know 
more  about  the  Christian  religion.  Some 
tracts  were  given  him  ; and  by  the  reading  of 
these,  together  with  the  preaching,  he  was  led 
to  feel  himself  a lost  sinner,  and  that  he 
needed  just  such  a Saviour  as  Christ.  At  his 
baptism,  he  received  the  name  of  Nathanael. 

The  new  convert  was  mocked  and  opposed 
by  his  fellow  soldiers.  They  declared  that  he 
was  a disgrace  to  the  army,  because  he  had 
changed  his  religion ; but  he  bore  all  with 
meekness  and  patience,  and  sought  to  “ over- 
come evil  with  good.”  His  holy  and  gentle 
behaviour  at  last  turned  his  opposers  into  ad- 
mirers and  friends. 

His  first  concern  was  for  the  conversion  of 
his  wife.  He  longed  to  bring  her  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  Saviour.  As  she  sat  spin- 
ning, he  placed  himself  by  her  side,  and  read 
the  Scriptures,  or  a tract  to  her,  and  then 
asked  her  to  walk  with  him  to  hear  the  mis- 
sionary. Through  God’s  blessing  on  his 
efforts,  he  had  the  joy  of  seeing  his  wife  a 
disciple  of  Christ. 


114  PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 

Next,  he  wished  to  go  among  his  family  and 
former  neighbours.  He  got  leave  of  absence 
from  the  army  for  this  purpose,  and,  taking 
with  him  a supply  of  Scriptures  and  tracts, 
he  went  to  his  native  village,  where  he  made 
known  to  his  friends  and  former  neighbours 
that  he  was  a Christian,  and  called  on  them 
to  renounce  their  false  ways,  and  to  believe 
in  Jesus,  that  they  might  find  pardon  of  their 
sins. 

Not  many  days  after  his  arrival,  he  was 
taken  ill.  He  now  gave  away  his  books  even 
more  freely,  and  addressed  his  brothers.  To 
one  brother,  who  could  read  well,  he  gave  his 
copy  of  the  New  Testament,  begging  of  him 
to  prize  it,  for  it  was  the  book  of  God.  Thus, 
while  engaged  in  doing  good  in  his  native 
village,  among  those  he  knew,  the  converted 
sepoy  was  called  to  his  rest. 

THE  DYING  SCRIPTURE  READER. 

Yanketswammy  was  a native  convert,  em- 
ployed by  the  missionaries  to  read  the  Bible 


THE  DYING  SCRIPTURE  READER.  115 

to  the  Hindoos,  but  who  at  his  baptism  re- 
ceived the  names  of  Thomas  Kilpin.  He 
married  a young  woman,  called  Lucy,  from  a 
Christian  mission  school.  They  lived  very 
happily  together ; they  had  one  little  boy,  in 
whom  they  took  great  delight. 

Thomas  used  to  go  on  considerable  jour- 
neys to  assist  the  missionaries  in  their  work 
of  Bible  distribution.  When  on  one  of  these 
tours  he  caught  cold.  It  was  hoped  that  he 
would  soon  get  better  : but  he  became  increas- 
ingly worse,  and  in  a few  months  he  was  laid 
on  his  dying  bed.  His  only  concern  now  was 
that  he  must  leave  his  wife  and  child.  As 
Lucy  sat  by  his  side,  he  looked  at  her  with 
much  tenderness,  and  said,  “ Do  not  cry, 
Lucy ; I am  going  to  heaven.  I am  quite 
happy.  God,  our  God,  will  take  care  of  you 
and  the  child  : only  keep  close  to  him.  Our 
missionary  and  his  wife  will  be  father  and 
mother  to  you  ; but,  oh  ! take  care  to  bring  up 
our  boy  for  Jesus.  It  is  Jesus  who  now  makes 
me  happy.  If  I had  never  heard  of  him,  nor 
loved  him,  I could  not  die  in  peace.  0 Lucy, 


116  PICTURES  OP  HINDOO  LIFE. 

never  let  our  child  worship  idols  ; bring  him 
up  for  Jesus.”  And  thus,  after  speaking 
some  other  words  of  comfort  and  instruction 
he  fell  asleep  in  Jesus. 

THE  ONE  LEAF. 

A caravan  was  crossing  to  the  north  of 
India,  and  numbered  in  its  company  a devoted 
missionary.  As  it  passed  along,  a poor  old 
Hindoo  was  overcome  by  the  heat  and  toil  of 
the  journey,  and  sinking  down,  was  left  to 
perish  on  the  road.  The  missionary  saw  him, 
and,  kneeling  down  at  his  side,  when  the  rest 
had  passed  along,  whispered  into  his  ear, 
“ Brother,  what  is  your  hope?”  The  dying 
man  raised  himself  to  reply,  and  with  a great 
effort  said,  “ The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  cleans- 
eth  from  all  sin  and  then  expired.  The 
missionary  was  greatly  astonished  at  the  an- 
swer, and  in  the  calm  and  peaceful  appearance 
of  the  man,  felt  assured  that  he  had  died  ?n 
Christ.  “ How,  or  where,”  he  thought, 
“ could  this  man,  seemingly  a heathen,  have 


RESULT  FROM  A SINGLE  TRACT.  117 


got  this  hope  ?”  And  as  he  thus  thought,  he 
saw  a piece  of  paper  grasped  tightly  in  the 
hand  of  the  dead  body,  which  he  succeeded  in 
getting  out.  What  were  his  surprise  and 
delight  when  he  found  it  was  a single  leaf  of 
the  Bible,  containing  the  first  chapter  of  the 
first  Epistle  of  John,  in  which  these  words 
occur ! On  that  page  the  man  had  found  the 
gospel  of  his  salvation. 

In  India,  where  the  number  of  missionaries 
is  so  few,  compared  with  the  millions  of  hea- 
thens to  be  enlightened,  religious  tracts  are 
found  of  the  greatest  importance.  Where 
there  is  no  living  teacher,  the  printed  page 
may  to  some  extent  supply  his  place.  The 
instances  of  conversion  by  this  means  are 
very  numerous.  Here  is  a delightful  case  in 
point. 

BLESSED  RESULTS  FROM  A SINGLE  TRACT. 

“ The  tract  entitled  ‘ The  Heavenly  Way,’  ” 
says  Dr.  Scudder,  of  Madras,  “ was  given  to 


118 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


a young  man  at  one  of  the  public  markets. 
He  read  it ; was  convinced  of  the  folly  of 
idolatry ; came  to  me  for  the  purpose  of  ob- 
taining a more  full  knowledge  of  Christianity ; 
received  instruction  ; and  became,  as  I hope, 
a true  follower  of  the  Redeemer.  But  this  is 
not  all  the  good  which  this  tract  has  been  the 
means  of  doing.  Through  it  the  little  brother 
of  this  young  man  became  connected  with  one 
of  my  schools,  and  also  attended  church. 
After  he  had  attended  preaching  for  some 
time,  he  begged  me  to  admit  him  to  a pro- 
fession of  his  faith.  As  he  was  quite  young, 
not  eleven  years  old,  I hesitated  to  receive 
him.  In  this,  perhaps,  I did  wrong.  He 
never  openly  joined  the  church  on  earth.  He, 
however,  soon  went  to  join  the  church  in 
heaven.  He  was  attacked  with  cholera,  and 
died.  In  India,  when  children  are  very  ill, 
the  father  or  mother  take  up  a cocoa-nut,  or 
a few  plantains,  and  run  to  the  temple,  and 
say,  ‘ Swammie  (the  name  given  to  the  idol), 
if  you  will  cure  my  little  boy  or  little  girl,  I 
will  give  you  this  cocoa-nut,  or  these  plan- 


THE  HINDOO  AND  THE  TRACTS.  119 

tains.’  The  mother  of  this  little  hoy  saw  that 
he  was  in  great  danger,  and  she  told  him  that 
she  wished  to  go  and  make  offerings  to  one 
of  her  idols,  in  order  that  he  might  get  well. 
But  he  requested  her  not  to  go.  ‘ I do  not 
worship  idols,’  said  he  ; ‘ I worship  Christ,  my 
Saviour.  If  he  is  pleased  to  spare  me  a little 
longer  in  the  world,  it  will  be  well ; if  not,  I 
shall  go  to  him.’  The  last  words  which  he 
uttered  were,  ‘ I am  going  to  Christ  the 
Lord,’  and  then  he  died.  Through  the  instru- 
mentality of  the  same  tract,  also,  the  young 
woman,  who  afterwards  married  the  brother 
(the  original  receiver  of  the  tract),  was  con- 
verted ; and,  to  crown  all,  the  hoary-headed 
father,  after  having  bowed  his  knees  for  half 
a century  before  idols,  was,  through  its 
means,  brought  to  yield  his  heart  to  the 
Saviour.” 

THE  HINDOO  AND  THE  TRACTS. 

Futika  was  a native  of  Bengal,  and  by  trade 
a weaver.  He  had  been  a strict  idolater.  One 


120  PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 

day  a Christian  tract  was  given  to  him.  He 
read  it,  and  it  led  him  to  see  that  his  old 
heathenish  ways  were  wrong  and  sinful,  and 
that,  if  he  could  get  more  little  books,  they 
might  teach  him  the  right  way  to  heaven.  He 
sought  and  obtained  others,  and  was  so  pleased 
with  them,  that  he  went  among  his  friends  to 
tell  them  about  the  good  news.  He  then  left 
his  home  and  travelled  to  Serampore,  to  find 
out  the  missionaries  who  gave  the  tracts  away. 
It  was  a long  journey,  but  he  arrived  safely 
at  the  place.  He  went  up  and  down  the 
streets,  inquiring  for  the  good  people  who 
gave  away  tracts.  Among  other  places  he 
called  at  the  house  of  a great  man,  thinking 
he  might  be  able  to  tell  him ; but  the  door- 
keeper seized  him  by  the  neck  and  drove  him 
from  the  yard.  His  grief  was  heavy,  that  he 
could  not  find  the  servants  of  Yisoo  Chreest, 
(Jesus  Christ,)  and  at  last  he  was  obliged  to 
go  back  to  his  village,  having  spent  all  his 
money.  Still,  his  mind  was  not  at  rest ; the 
tracts  had  shown  him  the  folly  of  bowing  down 
to  idols,  and  be  longed  to  know  more  of  the 


THE  HINDOO  AND  THE  TRACTS.  121 

true  way  of  salvation.  After  some  months 
had  passed  away,  he  left  his  home  again,  along 
with  two  friends,  whose  minds  had  also  been 
impressed  by  the  tracts.  They  walked  to 
Serampore,  and  asked  for  the  place  where  the 
new  shastres  (or  books)  were  printed.  Some 
of  the  Hindoos  abused  them  for  wishing  to 
change  their  religion ; others  mocked  them  ; 
and  many  threatened  to  do  them  harm ; but 
no  one  would  direct  them  to  the  place  they 
wished  to  go  to. 

At  length  they  came  near  the  door  of  the 
mission-house,  and  a Erahmin,  hearing  them 
inquire  for  the  Christian  teachers,  began  to 
dispute  with  them.  This  caused  a clamour, 
which  was  heard  by  a native  assistant  as  he 
passed  along : he  went  to  them,  took  them  by 
the  hand,  and  led  them  into  the  house. 

Futika  was  full  of  joy,  and  he  and  his 
friends  remained  in  the  place  five  days.  The 
tracts  Futika  carried  home  with  him  were  his 
delight.  His  mother,  sister,  and  friends  now 
began  to  show  their  rage  ; and  the  head  man 
of  the  village  collected  a mob  and  went  to  his 
11 


122 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


house.  All  the  men,  -women,  and  children  of 
the  village  now  ran  to  the  spot.  Some  hissed 
and  mocked  ; others  threw  dust  on  him,  and 
rubbed  his  eyes  and  stopped  his  ears  with 
mud.  “ If  you  will  worship  the  gods,”  they 
said,  “ we  will  let  you  go.”  But  Futika  re- 
fused to  return  to  idolatry. 

The  crowd  took  away  his  Testament  and 
tore  it  up  ; then,  rushing  into  his  house,  they 
seized  his  much-loved  tracts  and  destroyed 
them  also.  This  was  a sad  loss  to  Futika  ; 
still,  he  remained  firm  and  patient  under 
their  insults.  Finding  they  could  not  terrify 
him,  they  next  dragged  him  to  the  idol  temple 
and  tied  him  to  a pillar;  and  here  he  re- 
mained until  the  evening,  when  he  was  set 
at  liberty. 

After  this,  Futika  left  his  village  and  went 
to  live  at  Serampore,  where  he  was  engaged  in 
the  service  of  the  mission.  Among  his  Chris- 
tian friends  he  remained,  till  among  them  he 
died  in  the  faith. 

Many  years  have  passed  since  Futika  was 
brought  to  the  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ, 


HINDOO  AFFECTION. 


123 


through  the  reading  of  tracts  ; since  then, 
millions  of  these  publications  have  been  given 
away  to  poor  idolaters  in  different  parts  of 
India,  and  many  have  been  the  instances  of 
the  spiritual  good  done  by  them. 

HINDOO  AFFECTION. 

The  gratitude  and  affection  of  the  native 
converts  to  their  Christian  teachers  are  often 
most  touchingly  displayed,  as  the  following 
little  story  will  show  : — 

In  the  autumn  of  the  year  1854,  the  health 
of  Mr.  Hume,  a missionary  in  Bombay,  be- 
came so  feeble  that  he  was  obliged  to  leave 
the  station  at  which  he  had  laboured  for  about 
fifteen  years.  He  was  so  weak  that  he  was 
carried  on  board  the  ship  and  laid  in  a bed. 
He  and  his  family  were  much  beloved  by  the 
people  whom  they  had  taught,  many  of  whom 
had  been  brought  from  the  worship  of  idols  to 
the  blessings  of  a Christian  life. 

The  day  when  they  left  their  station  was 
a day  of  sorrow  to  many  hearts.  The  peo- 


124 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


pie  followed  them  through  the  streets,  and 
with  tears  and  cries  showed  their  grief.  The 
ship  was  anchored  for  the  night  at  some  dis- 
tance from  the  shore;  and,  so  eager  were  these 
people  to  stay  as  long  as  possible  with  their 
beloved  teachers,  that  many  went  off  in  little 
boats,  and  a crowd  collected  on  the  deck  of 
the  ship.  They  stopped  till  night  was  com- 
ing on,  when  they  were  told  that  they  must 
return  to  their  homes. 

One  woman  begged  so  earnestly  to  stay 
and  assist  in  undressing  the  children,  and 
making  ready  for  the  night,  that  she  was 
allowed  to  do  so.  After  the  children  had 
retired,  and  Mrs.  Hume  was  sitting  alone  in 
the  cabin,  this  poor  Avoman  came  and  sat  down 
beside  her  on  the  floor.  She  then  kissed 
her  feet,  and  wept.  Looking  up  into  her 
face  with  a sad  earnestness  she  said, 
“ Madam  Sahib  (a  term  of  great  respect), 
once  there  Avas  a great  tree,  a beautiful  tree  ; 
and  God  was  pleased  to  raise  its  head  higher 
than  any  of  the  trees.  It  had  many  great 
branches,  many  little  branches,  and  many, 


HINDOO  AFFECTION. 


125 


many  blossoms.  All  the  people  round  about 
gathered  under  the  shade  of  this  tree.  The 
fowls  of  the  air  and  the  little  birds  built  their 
nests,  and  laid  their  eggs,  and  hatched  their 
young  among  these  branches  ; and  here  they 
sang,  and  were  so  happy,  oh ! so  happy.” 
Here  she  stopped  and  wept.  Lifting  her 
head,  however,  she  soon  continued  : “ But  it 
pleased  the  Lord  to  send  a great  storm,  and  to 
lay  this  tree  low,  and  its  branches  were  cast 
on  the  ground,  and  all  the  people  were  scat- 
tered ; and  the  birds  hovered  around,  making 
a mournful  cry,  not  knowing  where  to  find  a 
resting-place  for  the  soles  of  their  feet ; and 
the  eggs  were  broken,  and  all  was  distress.” 
Here  she  again  stopped  and  wept.  Then, 
with  the  most  tender  expression,  she  took 
hold  of  Mrs.  Hume’s  arm,  and  pointing  to- 
wards the  inner  cabin,  where  Mr.  Hume  was 
lying,  she  said,  “ Madam  Sahib,  there 
lies  that  tree.”  The  pious  missionary 
died  soon  afterwards. 


126  PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


CHAPTER  XI Y . 

THE  GOOD  WORK  AMONG  THE  CHILDREN 
OF  THE  HINDOOS. 

The  schools  formed  in  India  by  the  mission- 
aries have  wrought  great  changes.  About 
fifty  years  ago,  it  was  thought  a very  strange 
thing  indeed  for  girls  to  be  taught  at  all. 
Mrs.  Wilson  was  one  of  the  first  to  collect  the 
female  children  of  the  natives  of  this  country, 
and  to  give  them  instruction.  An  account 
has  been  given  by  a lady,  who  went  to  see  her 
school  some  years  ago,  and  which  is  still  of  so 
much  interest  as  to  claim  insertion  here. 

“ I went  with  Mrs.  Wilson,  at  nine  o’clock 
this  morning,  to  the  native  girls’  school,  and 
found  thirteen  met  together.  I spoke  to  the 
children  in  their  own  language,  and  asked  if 
they  would  attend  regularly  to  he  taught  by 


THE  GOOD  WORK  AMONG  CHILDREN.  127 

that  lady.  They  said  they  would  most  gladly. 
Many  of  their  female  friends  stood  without  the 
lattice-work,  looking  in.  The  children  then 
repeated  their  alphabet,  and  after  they  had 
gone  over  a few  of  the  letters  several  times, 
we  moved  to  come  away  ; but  the  children, 
particularly  Monachee  and  Ponehee,  pointed 
out  their  mothers,  and  Ponehee  her  grand- 
mother, and  begged  I would  speak  to  them.” 
The  lady  then  gave  the  history  of  what  passed 
in  her  conversation  with  their  parents,  in 
which  she  told  them  that  Mrs.  Wilson  was  not 
seeking  the  riches  of  this  world,  but  wished  to 
promote  their  best  interests  ; and  they  said, 
with  one  voice,  “ What  a pearl  of  a woman  is 

this  r 

About  a week  afterwards,  the  same  lady 
went  again,  and  she  wrote  : “ Yesterday  being 
a great  day  among  the  natives,  the  children 
had  not  got  into  good  order  ; those  who  were 
present  welcomed  us  with  joy,  and  set  to  work 
with  their  alphabets.  I had  taken  my  grand- 
daughter Anna,  who  is  between  five  and  six 
years  of  age,  with  us,  at  the  sight  of  whom  all 


128 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


the  children  appeared  delighted.  When  I told 
them  she  could  read  our  Scriptures,  they  were 
surprised. 

“ They  again  pointed  out  their  mothers, 
looking  in.  I went  up  to  them.  After  a 
while,  Monachee’s  mother  asked,  ‘ What  will 
be  the  use  of  learning  to  our  female  children  ?’ 
I said,  ‘ It  will  enable  them  to  be  more  useful 
in  their  families  and  increase  their  knowledge, 
and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  it  will  tend  also  to 
gain  respect  in  families  and  increase  their 
affection.’  ‘ True,’  said  one  of  them,  ‘ our 
husbands  look  on  us  as  little  better  than 
brutes.  And  what  benefit  will  you  derive 
from  this  work  ?’  I replied,  ‘ The  only  return 
that  we  wish  is  to  promote  your  best  interests 
and  happiness.’  ‘ Then,’  said  the  woman,  * I 
suppose  this  is  a holy  work  in  your  sight,  and 
well-pleasing  to  God.’  I said  in  return,  ‘ God 
is  always  well-pleased  that  we  should  love  and 
do  good  to  our  fellow  creatures :’  for  they  are 
not  yet  able  to  understand  our  motives. 
That  is,  they  know  nothing  of  the  love  of 
Christ,  which  constrains  Christians  to  spend 


THE  GOOD  WORK  AMONG  CHILDREN.  129 

their  lives  in  his  service.  They  thought  only 
of  doing  right  in  order  to  gain  some  advan- 
tage by  it. 

“ The  ladies  afterwards  visited  some  of  the 
families  in  their  own  homes.  ‘ In  the  last 
house,’  says  the  writer,  ‘ we  had  no  chair  to  sit 
on  ; and  Ponehee’s  mother  said  : ‘ You  know 
we  do  not  use  such  things,  and  think  ourselves 
well  off  if  we  have  a mat  to  sit  upon,’  but  they 
found  a little  stool  for  Anna,  with  whom  they 
were  greatly  delighted.  We  did  not  attempt 
to  go  further  than  the  entrance  of  their  houses, 
for  they  would  probably  have  had  to  wash  all 
the  floor  over  again  if  we  had  entered.  Though 
the  huts,  or  cottages,  consisted  only  of  mud 
walls  and  floors,  with  thatched  roofs,  yet  all 
was  clean  and  neat ; and  the  style  is  the  same 
whether  in  a palace  or  a cottage.  Within  a 
matted  enclosure  the  poor  have  several  little 
huts  ; the  outer  is  used  for  cooking  and  eating, 
(on  account  of  the  heat,  probably,)  and  in  the 
inner  ones  they  sleep. 

The  missionaries  in  India  have  found  it  best, 
as  living  there  is  very  cheap,  to  take  the  scho- 


130 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


lars  altogether  under  their  care — to  hoard  and 
clothe  them,  where  they  are  orphans,  or  if 
their  parents  are  willing  to  part  with  them  ; 
and  by  this  means  they  learn  more  than  they 
could  do  as  day-scholars,  and  are  kept  out  of 
the  way  of  heathen  society.  But  this  plan  re- 
quires a great  deal  of  care  and  trouble  on  the 
part  of  their  teachers,  though  they  are  often 
repaid  by  the  improvement  of  their  youthful 
pupils.  One  of  the  most  useful  of  their 
schools,  or  seminaries,  was  that  at  Palamed- 
tah,  and  many  interesting  anecdotes  are  re- 
lated of  it.  Once,  after  the  holidays,  the  lads 
in  that  school  were  encouraged  to  invite  any 
little  girls  in  their  families  to  come  with  them ; 
and,  on  their  return,  about  twenty  came,  who 
were  mostly  their  own  sisters  or  cousins.  So 
a girl’s  school  was  opened  for  them,  under  the 
care  of  Mrs.  Schmidt,  a missionary’s  wife. 
The  situation  is  thus  described  : — “ The  house 
is  built,  as  most  of  the  houses  here  are,  of  raw 
bricks.  It  contains  a hall,  six  rooms,  and  four 
small  verandahs,  or  open  spaces,  with  two 
chambers.  On  the  east  side  is  the  kitchen, 


THE  GOOD  WORK  AMONG  CHILDREN.  131 

with  three  rooms,  and  six  smaller  for  poultry 
and  stores.  On  the  west  there  are  stables,  a 
pigeon-house,  a bathing  room  with  a small 
tank  near  it,  and  two  huts.  The  house  and 
principal  outhouses  are  tiled  : the  rest  are 
covered  with  large  leaves.  There  is  a fruit 
and  vegetable  garden,  with  a number  of  cocoa- 
nut,  mango,  and  other  trees,  and  vines.” 

One  of  the  little  girls  in  this  place  was  very 
attentive  and  serious,  and  was  never  known  to 
be  guilty  of  any  fault.  When  she  was  at 
home  for  the  holidays,  she  took  some  girls, 
smaller  than  herself,  round  her  upon  the  sand, 
and  repeated  to  them  a part  of  her  Catechism 
which  relates  to  the  sufferings  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  Another  child,  who  died  very 
happily,  was  fond,  in  her  last  illness,  of  list- 
ening to  the  history  of  the  death  of  Christ. 
She  said,  “ The  Lord  Jesus  has  suffered  and 
died  for  me,  therefore  he  will  not  reject  me.” 
Once,  a number  of  the  girls  were  seen  talking 
together ; and,  when  asked  what  they  were 
speaking  of,  one  of  the  eldest  said,  that  it  was 
about  going  home  for  the  holidays  ; and  that 


132  PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 

she  had  told  them  to  behave  well  at  home,  not 
to  join  in  the  evil  ways  of  the  village  girls, 
but  to  speak  and  do  that  which  would  be 
pleasing  to  the  Lord. 

This  school  was  opened  about  five  years 
after  Mrs.  Wilson  had  arrived  in  India,  and 
many  others  had  sprung  up,  one  by  one,  in 
other  places.  Mrs.  Wilson  had  also  seen  a 
great  improvement  in  the  children  about  her. 
In  one  of  her  letters  she  said,  “ When  I first 
came,  they  appeared  to  have  no  idea  of  any- 
thing but  money  and  dress ; now,  however, 
they  often  remind  me  that  they  have  no  work- 
bag,  needle-case,  or  scissors.  Many  young 
ladies  could  give  a mite  in  this  way,  by  their 
own  industry,  who  have  not  money  to  bestow. 
Children’s  little  cheap  books,  Watts’s  ‘First 
Catechism,’  and  4 Hymns  for  Children,’ 
wooden  pencil  cases,  common  dolls,  and  ladies’ 
work  of  any  kind,  would  be  acceptable.”  This 
call  was  attended  to,  and  collections  of  this 
kind  are  now  often  made  for  this  purpose  in 
England. 

The  idea  of  learning  to  sew  was  not  much 


THE  GOOD  WORK  AMONG  CHILDREN.  133 

liked  at  first ; but,  after  a while,  they  were 
ready  to  complain,  “ What ! no  work  for  us 
to-day?”  One  teacher  wrote:  “We  had 
taken  some  articles  of  clothing,  which  the 
ladies  in  Calcutta  were  preparing  to  send  to 
the  distressed  settlers  at  the  Cape.  When 
the  scholars  heard  for  whom  this  work  was 
intended,  and  how  much  the  poor  people  had 
suffered,  they  were  greatly  concerned,  and 
asked,  ‘ Why  do  they  not  come  here  ? They 
would  get  plenty  to  eat.’  I said,  ‘ Would 
you  not  be  very  glad  to  assist  them  ?’  They 
replied,  ‘ Yes  ; but  we  are  so  poor  that  we 
have  nothing  to  give.’  I said,  ‘Some  ladies 
in  England  work  for  the  poor.’  They  said, 
‘ Oh,  we  can  work  for  them ;’  and  six  girls 
finished  what  was  given  without  receiving  any 
pay,  as  they  were  used  to  do.” 

About  the  same  time,  one  girl  of  eleven 
years  old  taught  her  two  elder  sisters  at  home 
to  read ; and  another  of  the  same  age  taught 
her  little  sister  to  repeat  the  Catechism.  By 
degrees,  the  higher  classes  of  natives  also 
became  willing  that  their  children  should  be 
12 


134  PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 

taught.  The  girls  also  learned  the  folly  of 
praying  to  idols,  and  in  many  cases  both 
parents  and  children  were  converted  to  God. 

Since  that  happy  day  when  Mrs.  Wilson 
gathered  for  the  first  time  a few  Hindoo  girls 
around  her,  the  good  work  has  gone  on,  and 
thousands  of  girls  are  now  under  a course  of 
instruction.  They  learn  out  of  the  same 
books  as  English  children,  only  put  into  the 
native  tongue.  They  read  the  “ Dairyman’s 
Daughter,”  the  “Young  Cottager,”  and  the 
“ Pilgrim’s  Progress,”  which  have  been  put 
into  their  language  for  their  use ; and,  above 
all,  they  have  been  taught  to  read  the  best 
of  books — the  Bible.  That  holy  book  has 
led  many  of  them  to  the  Saviour,  for  pardon 
through  his  precious  blood ; and  some  have 
died  rejoicing  in  him  as  their  only  hope. 

HINDOO  BOYS’  SCHOOL. 

The  missionaries,  after  they  had  been  for 
some  time  at  their  work  among  the  Hindoos, 
found  the  need  of  native  helpers  ; but  ho w to 


THE  HINDOO  BOYS’  SCHOOL.  135 

obtain  them  was  the  difficulty.  They  talked 
on  the  subject,  and  prayed  ; when  they  thought, 
if  they  could  take  charge  of  some  of  the  poor 
orphan  children  and  teach  them,  they  might, 
through  the  blessing  of  God,  grow  up  to  be 
useful  to  their  country  in  various  ways. 

It  happened  about  the  same  time  that  there 
had  been  a great  famine  in  this  part  of  India. 
Many  parents  had  died  from  want,  leaving 
their  little  children  without  any  to  care  for 
them  among  their  own  people.  Other  parents 
sold  their  children  for  a few  pence,  to  get  rid 
of  the  burden,  and  to  provide  themselves  with 
a little  supply  of  food. 

When  the  orphans  Avere  first  brought  to  the 
missionaries,  they  were  poor,  sickly,  dirty 
children,  and  their  habits  and  sins  were  very 
bad.  They  had  no  regard  for  truth — no  feel- 
ing of  honesty.  Often  they  ran  away,  steal- 
ing anything  they  could  carry  off  belonging 
to  the  missionaries,  and  it  seemed  almost  im- 
possible  to  teach  them  to  read  or  work. 

The  missionaries,  however,  went  on  in  faith 
and  prayer,  and  after  a time  they  had  the 


136 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


pleasure  of  seeing  many  of  their  scholars 
clean,  industrious,  orderly,  moral,  and  even 
pious.  They  were  taught  different  trades ; 
some  were  very  clever  at  weaving  carpets, 
and  others  became  good  tailors. 

Let  us  now  peep  into  a mission  school  for 
boys  ; and  a worthy  missionary  shall  be  our 
guide.  We  will  go  through  that  narrow  pas- 
sage, says  he,  which  will  bring  us  into  a room 
where  some  Hindoo  lads  are  learning  to  be 
blacksmiths.  Here  are  eight  of  them,  with 
their  master,  engaged  in  making  bolts,  locks, 
and  screws,  almost  as  readily  as  English 
workmen  would  do.  One  boy,  who  blows  the 
bellows,  is  blind  ; but  he  has  so  good  a me- 
mory, that  he  can  repeat  by  heart  almost  the 
whole  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  Matthew.  Before 
he  was  put  to  this  trade,  he  went  with  the 
other  boys  into  the  school,  and  learned  what 
he  heard  them  read. 

Now  let  us  turn  to  the  left,  and  visit  the 
boys’  rooms.  But,  first,  call  in  on  the  south 
side  ; there  is  the  most  interesting  room  in  the 
whole  house.  It  is  where  they  make  carpets. 


THE  HINDOO  BOYS’  SCHOOL.  137 

They  are  now  weaving  one,  about  sixteen  feet 
square,  with  red  flowers  on  a white  ground. 
You  know  that  the  thread  is  wound  on  two 
large  round  pieces  of  wood,  which  are  turned 
one  over  the  other,  and  so  the  cloth  is  woven. 
And  there  is  a pattern,  which  shows  how 
many  threads  they  must  take  or  leave,  accord- 
ing to  the  lines  in  the  pattern,  such  as  little 
girls  at  home  have  for  work  in  Berlin  wool. 
The  work  is  easier  than  it  might  seem  to  be, 
and  is  not  troublesome,  even  for  small  boys. 

Close  to  this  room  is  another,  where  two 
boys  prepare  types  for  the  printing  press. 
We  are  now  on  the  left  side  of  the  house,  and 
here  are  thirty-five  boys  employed  in  setting 
the  letters  for  printing.  They  print  books 
and  other  things,  and  have  now  5000  Psalters 
and  a prayer  book  in  Hindostani,  in  progress. 
When  these  are  ready,  they  will  prepare 
another  edition  of  the  New  Testament,  and 
of  the  translation  of  Dr.  Barth’s  “ Bible 
Stories.”  But  perhaps  you  will  ask  why 
these  orphan  boys  are  taught  so  many  different 
trades.  There  are  three  reasons  for  this. 

12  * 


138 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


One  is,  that  they  may  be  used  to  labour,  and 
avoid  idleness,  which  is  the  beginning  of  all 
mischief ; another  is,  that  by  their  work  they 
may  do  something  for  the  support  of  this  in- 
stitution ; and,  in  the  third  place,  to  provide 
for  their  own  wants  hereafter.  All  these 
trades  are  necessary.  At  home,  an  orphan 
may  be  apprenticed  to  a Christian  master,  to 
learn  his  trade.  This  cannot  be  done  here  ; 
for  no  heathen  master  will  take  a Christian 
apprentice.  And  if  such  would  take  our  boys, 
the  good  seed  that  is  sown  in  their  hearts 
might  very  soon  be  choked.  So  we  must  teach 
our  boys  and  girls  how  to  get  their  own 
living. 

Having  left  the  printers,  we  must  go  into 
the  school-room  for  a little  while.  Here  it  is, 
in  this  hall  we  have  just  entered.  You  sit 
down  by  a class  of  ten  boys,  who  are  learning 
English.  This  is  to  prepare  them  to  become, 
by  the  blessing  of  God,  native  teachers,  and 
helpers  to  the  missionaries.  There  is  one  tall 
boy  who  has  but  one  eye,  having  lost  the 
other  in  a most  painful  way : it  became  in- 


HINDOO  BOYS’  SCHOOL. 


139 


flamed  by  a burning  application  from  a hea- 
then physician.  The  poor  boy  then  suffered 
severely  ; but  we  may  hope  that  the  eyes  of 
his  understanding  are  opened,  for  he  reads 
his  Bible  and  says  he  loves  the  Saviour.  We 
call  him  Elisha.  These  boys  are  taught  Eng- 
lish, geography,  Scripture,  and  general  history, 
arithmetic,  and  much  that  will  be  useful  to 
them  hereafter.  In  this  class,  and  in  all  the 
rest,  religious  instruction  is  the  chief  concern, 
and  most  of  these  boys  are  very  well  informed 
as  to  the  word  of  God.  There  was  once  a pundit, 
or  native  teacher,  set  over  them  as  a master, 
but  his  place  is  now  filled  by  the  older  school- 
boys. These  boys  understand  English,  and 
are  skilled  in  teaching. 

The  other  boys  are  taught  Hindostani,  as 
are  those  who  work  in  the  different  trades, 
and  meet  in  the  evening  for  instruction  ; so 
that  they  learn  and  labour  by  turns.  But  we 
cannot  leave  the  school  without  noticing  one 
droll  little  fellow,  who  has  not  been  here  long. 
He  is  almost  as  broad  as  he  is  high,  but  has  a 
nice,  open-looking  face.  Some  days  ago,  he 


140 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


■went  into  the  printing-room  with  a large  Bihle 
under  his  arm.  Some  one  asked  him,  “ "Which 
is  the  greatest,  you  or  your  book  ?”  He  said, 
The  book  ; for  it  is  the  word  of  God.” 
But  he  could  not  read  it  then  ; though  his 
greatest  delight  was  to  get  a number  of  boys 
round  him,  and  talk  to  them.  He  has  much 
improved  in  this  school,  and  so  have  many 
other  hoys. 

Now  we  pass  out  through  the  south  gate, 
between  two  rows  of  small  houses,  forming 
a village.  Some  of  them  belong  to  youths 
who  have  been  pupils  in  the  school.  Their 
houses  are  small,  about  fourteen  feet  wide  and 
nine  deep,  with  verandahs  round  them.  How 
much  cleaner  and  better  they  are  than  the 
dirty  huts  of  the  natives  ! Here  is  a school 
for  very  little  children,  taught  by  an  affection- 
ate, and,  we  trust,  a truly  pious  orphan  girl. 
She  understands  English  and  German,  and 
she  desires  to  use  all  her  talents  to  promote 
the  glory  of  God. 

Every  Sunday  there  is  public  worship  in 
the  church  twice,  and  another  service  for  the 


THE  PEARL. 


141 


children.  On  "Wednesday  morning  there  is  a 
prayer-meeting,  and  in  the  evening  a mission- 
ary meeting.  Every  morning  and  evening 
there  is  family  worship  with  the  orphans. 
When  the  whole  congregation  assemble,  the 
church  is  nearly  filled.  Remember  these  poor 
children  in  your  prayers  ; and  recollect  that 
though  they  have  Christian  friends  to  teach 
and  to  care  for  them,  they  have  not  all  the 
advantages  that  you  enjoy. 

THE  PEARL. 

The  blessed  effects  of  Christian  instruction 
among  the  young  was  seen  in  a Hindoo  youth. 
Though  much  opposed  by  his  parents  and 
friends,  he  openly  made  known  his  love  to 
Jesus.  His  parents  told  him  that  they  did 
not  send  him  to  the  school  to  become  a Chris- 
tian, but  only  to  learn  useful  knowledge.  He 
then  wrote  them  a letter,  in  which  he  said — 

“ Dear  Parents — Six  years  ago  you  sent 
me  down  to  the  sea-shore  to  gather  oysters. 
Other  parents  also  sent  their  sons.  After 


142 


PICTURES  OF  HINDOO  LIFE. 


gathering  them  for  a long  time,  and  thinking 
them  only  oysters,  my  eyes  were  opened,  and 
made  me  see  that  these  oysters  contained 
pearls.  I said  to  myself,  ‘ My  parents  did 
not  send  me  here  to  seek  for  pearls,  and  per- 
haps they  will  he  displeased  if  I take  them  ; 
hut  what  shall  I do  ? I see  they  are  of  great 
value ; and  shall  I cast  them  away  because 
they  did  not  send  me  for  them  ? or  because 
they  will  be  angry  if  I take  them  ?’  ” 

The  people  in  the  east  use  many  figures 
when  they  speak  and  write.  The  young  man 
meant,  by  this  illustration  or  figure,  to  show 
his  parents,  that  though  they  did  not  send 
him  to  school  to  obtain  religion,  yet,  when  he 
saw  its  value,  he  could  not  do  otherwise  than 
embrace  it. 

We  see  how  the  converted  heathen  youth 
regard  that  religion  with  which  we  are  trying 
to  make  them  acquainted.  Though  once  so 
dark  and  ignorant,  when  Christ  and  his  blessed 
truths  are  made  known  to  them,  many  of  them 
see  their  great  value,  and  believe  in  them  with 
all  their  hearts.  IIow  beautiful  the  thought 


CONCLUSION. 


143 


of  the  young  man  ! A pearl  he  had  found, 
and  so  precious  it  was,  that  he  would  gather 
it  for  his  own,  though  father  and  mother  and 
friends  should  upbraid  him  for  it.  A father’s 
smile,  a mother’s  love,  were  as  dear  to  him  as 
they  are  to  us  ; but  dearer  to  him  was  that 
Saviour  whom  he  found  when  he  expected  it 
not. 

Many  other  interesting  facts  could  be  re- 
corded, both  of  old  and  young  converts  ; but 
we  must  close  our  little  book.  We  have  first 
seen  this  people  in  their  heathen  state,  in  all 
their  gross  ignorance  and  wickedness  ; and 
then,  in  contrast,  we  have  beheld  some  of  the 
cheering  first-fruits  of  the  gospel  among  them. 
May  our  young  readers  ponder  these  things  ; 
and,  as  they  think  of  their  Christian  privi- 
leges, may  they  without  delay  seek  peace  with 
God  through  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  lest  these 
words  should  be  fulfilled  in  their  melancholy 
experience  : “ Many  shall  come  from  the  east 
and  west,  and  shall  sit  down  with  Abraham, 
and  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  in  the  kingdom  of 


144 


PICTURES  OP  HINDOO  LIFE. 


heaven.  But  the  children  of  the  kingdom 
shall  be  cast  out  into  outer  darkness.”  Mat- 
thew viii.  12,  13. 

But  may  we  not  hope  that,  having  first 
given  themselves  to  Jesus,  and,  prompted  by 
sincere  love  to  him,  and  compassion  for  the 
souls  of  the  people  of  India,  they  will  seek  to 
give  them  the  same  gospel  which  is  their  own 
best  inheritance  ? Oh,  help  to  send  them 
missionaries,  Bibles,  and  Christian  books  and 
tracts.  Pray  that  the  labours  of  the  servants 
of  God  may  be  crowned  with  success  ; and 
labour , if  grace  calls  you  to  the  work,  to  make 
known  the  blessed  truth,  that  “ God  so  loved 

THE  WORLD,  THAT  HE  GAVE  HIS  ONLY  BEGOT- 
TEN SON,  THAT  WHOSOEVER  BELIEVETH  IN 
HIM  SHOULD  NOT  PERISH,  BUT  HAVE  EVER- 
LASTING LIFE.”  John  iii.  16. 


THE  END. 


